Cop car hits, kills man on Chambers Bridge Rd.
BY DANIELLE MEDINA Staff Writer

BRICK TOWNSHIP - A 74-year-old township man was struck and killed on Chambers Bridge Road last week by a police car driven by an on-duty officer responding to a nonemergency call, officials said.

William Gregson, who resided at Forge Pond Apartments, Chambers Bridge Road, was crossing the street at 7:46 p.m. on Oct. 15 when he was hit by a marked police car driven by Brick Police Officer Scott Smith, 24, authorities said.

Smith was on patrol and driving southbound on Chambers Bridge Road when he hit Gregson, who was dressed in dark clothing and crossing the street in the middle of the block at 150 Chambers Bridge Road, said Lt. John Mount of the Ocean County Prosecutor's Vehicular Homicide Unit.

The cruiser's roof lights were not flashing and the siren was not on because Smith was en route to a nonemergency call, said Capt. Michael Mohel of the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office.

Although the Prosecutor's Office is still investigating the accident, Mohel said any allegation that Smith was driving at an excessive speed and that the car's headlights were off is "totally fictitious."

Mohel declined to comment on the speed that Smith was traveling at or whether the cruiser is equipped with an on-board device that records the car's speed.

Dr. Joseph Domanski of the Ocean County Medical Examiner's Office pronounced Gregson dead at 8:20 p.m., Mohel said.

Smith was transported to Ocean Medical Center, Brick, and treated for minor injuries, Mohel said.

The accident on Chambers Bridge Road is the second time this year that a senior citizen has been struck and killed trying to cross the busy street.

John F. Auerbacher, 81, was struck and killed by an 2001 BMW sport-utility vehicle driven by Talia L. Pereira, Toms River, in January, as he tried to cross the street near the entrance to Kohl's Plaza.

Like Gregson, Auerbacher was not crossing the street in the marked crosswalk, police said.

The case is being investigated by Doug Higgens of the Prosecutors Office's Major Crime Unit. An internal investigation is also being conducted by the Brick Township Police Department.

Mohel said the investigation should take about a month to complete.

Anyone with information on the incident should contact Mount at (732) 929-2020, ext. 2455 or Investigator John Hill at (732) 929-2027, ext. 3225.