Fatal Crash, Webmaster Fired Top Long Valley News

It was a week filled with tragedy around Washington Township, as we reported on a fatal motorcycle accident and a man who was killed by an oncoming train.

There were some lighter headlines, too, and you can see all our news by going here.

For the bigger headlines, continue reading.

On Sunday night, a 60-year-old Toms River woman, riding as a motorcycle passenger, was thrown from the bike after it struck a Toyota Camry on Rt. 206 in Mt. Olive Township. The woman died as a result of the crash, and the motorcycle and car driver were taken to the hospital.

On Friday, July 6, a man reportedly stood in front of an oncoming train in Hackettstown and was killed by the locomotive. A few days later, New Jersey Transit Authorities identified the man as 50-year-old Victor Motyka. Officials are still investigating the situation and are searching for Motyka’s town of residency.

In a follow up to a tragic car crash that took the lives of two Mt. Olive teens in June, police said they believed in addition to speed, the inattention by use of cell phone also played a role in the accident. The investigation is ongoing, police said.

We stopped over to see the repairs on Schooley’s Mountain Road’s guardrails and check on the project status. We learned from Steve Hammond, the Morris County Engineer, it’s looking like another month of work–and one lane of alternating traffic–is to be expected. Have you been impacted by the traffic route?

At Wednesday’s township committee work session meeting, the governing body decided to move forward with outsourcing the position held by Bob Kelly, the town’s webmaster. The committee said the change in service will have a substantial savings to the municipal budget.