PHOTOS: After a car struck a deer in the early hours of the morning, a tanker truck then collided with the car, causing the truck to overturn and explode, police said.
According to police, Marissa Patterson, 18, of Forked River, was driving east on Route 37 at around 3 a.m. when a deer ran out in front of her car. As a result of hitting the deer, the car spun out and became disabled in the roadway, unable to be driven.
Patterson told police that she left her car and stood in a safe location while she called 911.
During that time, a truck pulling a tanker trailer filled with 8,700 gallons of gasoline drove right into Patterson’s car causing the truck to swerve and hit the concrete center barrier. The truck then separated from its trailer, went over the concrete barrier and came to a stop on the westbound shoulder of 37. The trailer then overturned causing the gasoline to spill and explode.