BERKELEY – A juvenile was critically injured in a crash involving two vehicles and a dirt bike at the intersection of Route 9 and Serpentine Drive, Berkeley Township police said.
Officers responding to the July 10 incident found a Kawasaki dirt bike and two vehicles with visible damage. The juvenile rider was observed with life-threatening injuries and was later airlifted from the ShopRite Plaza on Route 9 to Jersey Shore University Medical Center.
An initial investigation determined the dirt bike, which was not street legal and lacked a headlight, had been traveling southbound on Route 9 at a high rate of speed while passing vehicles on the shoulder. As a 2016 Kia Rio traveling northbound began turning left onto Serpentine Drive, it struck the dirt bike. The impact caused the bike to collide with a 2021 Jeep Compass, which was stopped at a stop sign.
No other injuries were reported.
The southbound lanes of Route 9 were closed for approximately two and a half hours as authorities investigated. The Ocean County Sheriff’s Department Crime Scene Investigation Unit assisted with evidence collection.
The incident remains under investigation by Officer Ryan Wahl of the Berkeley Township Traffic Safety Bureau. Charges are pending.
