Crime & Safety
UPDATE: Waretown Library Assessing Damages After Accident
A local man hit the building while having trouble with acceleration in his car, police said.
The Waretown branch of the Ocean County Library on 112 Main St. remains closed, to the side of the building which caused the structure to be deemed unsafe, according to township officials. But the library staff said they do not foresee the building being closed for too long.
"We don't anticipate it being a very long closure," Ocean County Library spokeswoman Heather Andelson said.
Ocean Township Police said the accident which caused the damage was "relatively minor" and resulted in no injuries.
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A Waretown man, Robert Silverman, 75, told the police that he had been having trouble with acceleration in his 2003 Toyota while trying to pull into a parking space by the library on Friday afternoon.
"He indicated that he believed there was some sort of malfunction with his vehicle," said Sgt. George Thompson of Ocean Township Police. "He was trying to pull into a parking space, and he went through the parking space into a building."
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The accident, which occurred at about 2:30 p.m. Friday, did not result in any fines or summons at this time, Thompson said, though he added the matter is still under investigation by the traffic safety department.
Meanwhile, the Ocean County Library is meeting with architects and other professionals and "plan the repairs," Andolsen of the Ocean County Library said.
"We've met with the township people, we've been at the scene taking a look at it," Andolsen said. "But since it happened on a Friday afternoon, we had to wait till Monday to get everyone together. We're hoping to open as soon as possible. We're currently asking our customers to pick up their hold materials at the Barnegat Branch."
