FREEHOLD TOWNSHIP – Police are continuing to investigate the deaths of two pedestrians that occurred in a 10-day span in Freehold Township.
According to the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office, a New York woman died as a result of injuries she sustained when she was struck by a motor vehicle during the late afternoon hours of Nov. 5.
Authorities said Lydia O. Lim, 70, of Long Island City, N.Y., was crossing Route 9 at 5:52 p.m. across from the Freehold Mall shopping center (Burlington Coat Factory.)
Lim was crossing the highway when she was struck in the southbound left lane by a driver operating a 2011 Mercedes Benz C300. She was pronounced dead at 6:33 p.m. at CentraState Medical Center, Freehold Township.
During the incident, the Mercedes Benz that struck Lim was struck from the rear by a driver operating a 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee.
Individuals involved in the incident were taken to CentraState Medical Center where they were treated and released, with the exception of the driver of the Mercedes Benz, who initially remained hospitalized in good condition, according to the prosecutor’s office.
As of Nov. 17, the driver who had remained in the hospital had been released, according to the prosecutor’s office.
The Nov. 5 incident remains under investigation by the prosecutor’s office, the Monmouth County Serious Collision Analysis Response Team (SCART) and the Freehold Township Police Department.
Anyone who witnessed the accident is asked to contact Prosecutor’s Office Detective Kristian DeVito at 800-533-7443 or Freehold Township Patrolman Frank Mount at 732-462-7908.
Just over a week later, at the same location, but on the other side of the highway, a second woman died as a result of being struck by a motor vehicle on Route 9 on the evening of Nov. 15, Prosecutor Christopher J. Gramiccioni announced.
Gramiccioni said Marie R. Casalino, 67, of Freehold Township, was crossing Route 9 in front of the Freehold Mall at 9:05 p.m. when she was struck in the northbound right lane by the driver of a 2017 Jeep Wrangler Sahara. Casalino was pronounced dead at the scene at 9:21 p.m.
The crash remains under investigation by the prosecutor’s office, SCART and the Freehold Township Police Department.
Anyone who witnessed the accident is asked to contact Prosecutor’s Office Detective Eric Kerecman at 732-431-7160 or Freehold Township Officer Michael Smith at 732-462-7908.
No charges had been filed against anyone in either accident as of Nov. 17, according to the prosecutor’s office.
