EHT police investigate cause of accident involving teenager

Police determined that the tow truck driver, 44-year-old Francis Kelly of Atlantic City, was not driving impaired or operating his vehicle recklessly at the time of the accident.

On Wednesday at 4:49 p.m., a 2021 Ford tow truck driven by Kelly was traveling north in slow traffic on Ocean Heights, south of Blackman Road.

The 15-year-old girl was riding her bike on the shoulder in the same direction and next to the tow truck when she lost her balance and fell off the bike, police said in a news release. The teenager fell onto the road, directly onto the path and under the rear tires of the tow truck.

Police said there was no contact between the truck and the bike before she fell under the vehicle.

The girl was treated at the scene by Township EMS and AtlantiCare ALS and transported to a nearby airstrip, where she was flown to Cooper University Hospital in Camden for her serious injuries, police said.

Both lanes of Ocean Heights in the area of ​​the crash were closed and traffic was detoured for approximately 90 minutes while the scene was investigated and cleared.

The investigation is ongoing. Anyone with further information can call police at 609-926-2641.