Manchester crash between van and sedan sends 11 students, two drivers to hospitals

MANCHESTER − A two-vehicle crash Tuesday morning on Route 571 and Route 547 sent 13 people to hospitals, including 11 students traveling to school in a passenger van, police said.

All of the victims were either treated and released or are listed in stable condition. The name of the school was not released.

The vehicle full of students, a 2023 Ford Transit passenger van, was headed south on Route 547 through the traffic light at County Road 571 about 8:30 a.m. when a 2020 Acura TLX tried to take a left turn onto Route 571 north from the center lane in front of the Ford, Capt. Vincent Manco of the Manchester Township Police Department said.

The front of the Ford hit the passenger side of the Acura, police said. The Acura went off the road ending up on Ridgeway Road, and the Ford collided with a black 2024 Mini Cooper parked in a lot on Ridgeway Road, police said.

The driver of the Acura, 53-year-old Tracey Kahn of Forked River, suffered cuts to her face and was taken to Community Medical Center in Toms River. The driver of the Ford, Dvora Katz, 20, of Jackson, also suffered facial cuts and was taken to Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune.

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Four of the 11 students were taken to Jersey Shore for unspecified injuries. The other seven students went to Monmouth Medical Center Southern Campus in Lakewood for minor injuries, police said.

Manco said the collision is still under investigation, but added "failure to yield the right of way at an intersection and improper turning appear to be the primary contributing factors."

Ken Serrano covers breaking news, crime and investigations. Reach him at 732-643-4029 or at kserrano@gannettnj.com.

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Crash in Manchester NJ injures 11 students headed to school