On Monday, February 26, 2024, at approximately 6:55 pm, members of the Manchester Township Police responded to the area of County Route 530 near the Whiting Memorial Park, 600 County Route 530, for the report of a bicyclist that was struck by two motor vehicles.
Upon arrival at the scene, officers located the bicyclist, 54-year-old Joseph Slover of Whiting, NJ, in the westbound lane of County Route 530 approximately .25 miles east of Crestwood Parkway, lying in the roadway. Mr. Slover succumbed to the injuries he sustained as a result of the crash and was pronounced deceased on scene. The two involved vehicles, a gold 2004 Ford Taurus and a green 2008 Nissan Sentra, were located at the scene of the crash with minimal damage. The investigation revealed that Mr. Slover was operating his electric bicycle westbound on County Route 530 when he fell onto the pavement, coming to rest in the westbound lane. The Ford, traveling in the same direction, subsequently impacted Mr. Slover while he was on the ground. Shortly thereafter, the Nissan, also westbound on County Route 530, struck Mr. Slover for a second time.
The driver of the Ford, 28-year-old, Dylan Coyle, of Whiting, NJ and the driver of the Nissan, 70-year-old, Gary Paszek, of Toms River were both traveling alone at the time of the crash. There were no reported injuries to the drivers.
Assisting at the scene were members of the Whiting Volunteer Fire Department, Emergency Medical Technicians from the Manchester Township Division of Emergency Services, and Paramedics from Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital. Additionally, Detectives from the Ocean County Sheriff’s Department Crime Scene Investigations Unit and a representative from the Ocean County Medical Examiner’s Office responded to the scene to assist in the investigation. The investigation into the crash is still ongoing, but at this point, bicyclist error and low light conditions appear to be the primary contributing factors. This crash is being investigated by Ptl. Michael O’Hara and Ptl. Brendan Brush of the department’s Traffic Safety Section.