A vehicle overturned on the White Horse Pike in Mullica Township on Tuesday, trapping four people inside and setting off a scramble by emergency crews who found their request for a medical helicopter denied because of weather. The crash happened at 3750 S. White Horse Pike in Atlantic County, and emergency responders requested several ambulances.
According to MetroLaw.com, Mullica Township Fire was called in to assist the four people trapped inside the overturned vehicle, and emergency responders requested several ambulances along with a medical helicopter. That helicopter request was declined due to weather conditions, the outlet reports. The full scope of the injuries has not been disclosed, and the investigation into what caused the crash remains ongoing as of Wednesday.
Weather Affected the Response
In this crash, weather led to the denial of the medical helicopter request. Emergency responders had also requested several ambulances.
That burden fell to local volunteers. Fire protection and technical rescue services in Mullica Township are supplied entirely by volunteer companies, including the Elwood Volunteer Fire Company and the Nesco Volunteer Fire Company, according to Mullica Township. Extricating four trapped occupants from a rolled vehicle is resource-intensive work for any department, let alone one staffed by volunteers responding on their own time.
A Familiar Stretch of Road
A 33-year-old Mullica Township resident was killed on May 17 when a passenger car struck his motorcycle on the White Horse Pike in neighboring Egg Harbor City, according to Cat Country 107.3.
A separate MoneyGeek analysis of National Highway Traffic Safety Administration data identified a 4.7-mile stretch of Route 30 in South Jersey as the state's deadliest road segment between 2017 and 2019, tying it to 12 fatalities across nine crashes, as reported by Patch.
No word yet on the vehicle speeds involved in Tuesday's crash or the medical conditions of the four people who were pulled from the wreckage, and the investigation into its cause continues.
