A 17-year-old Lenape Valley High School student caused a crash on Wednesday when he drifted into the oncoming lane of traffic and struck a van carrying seven adults with special needs, police said.
HOPATCONG -- A 17-year-old Lenape Valley High School student caused a head-on crash on Wednesday when he drifted into the oncoming lane of traffic and struck a van carrying seven adults with special needs, police said.
Five people were injured in the crash on Stanhope-Sparta Road at 2:34 p.m., Lt. Thomas Kmetz said in a post on the Hopatcong police Facebook page.
The teen, who traveling in the direction of Sparta at the time of the crash, was trapped inside of the vehicle after being pinned against the dashboard but he was extricated using the jaws of life, Kmetz said. The teen, who was wearing a seat belt, was flown to Morristown Medical Center and later released with only a laceration to his leg, he said.
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The occupants of the van sustained the following injuries: one had a broken ankle, one had three broken neck vertebrae, one had two teeth knocked out and need 46 stitches and one had two lacerations requiring stitches, Kmetz said.
The teen driver, whose name was not released, told officers he did not remember what happened, why left his lane of travel or whether he was texting.
The teen driver was issued summonses for failure to keep right and careless driving, Kmetz said.
Besides Hopatcong police, the Hopatcong Fire Department, Stanhope Fire Department, and ambulance squads from Hopatcong, Stanhope, Lakeland, Sparta, St. Claires and Atlantic Health Care assisted at the scene.
Justin Zaremba may be reached at jzaremba@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JustinZarembaNJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
