UPDATE: Woman Hospitalized Following West Bay Crash

A woman was air lifted to a trauma center following a midday crash on West Bay Avenue today involving a car and dump truck, police said.

The woman, whose name has not been released, was driving a compact car when she pulled out onto West Bay from Seventh Street shortly after noon and was struck by a large dump truck traveling west, said Sgt. Gary LaRussa of the Barnegat Township Police Department.

The T-bone collision totaled the small car, causing the airbags to deploy and trapping the driver inside. After she was extracted, she was rushed to a MONOC landing site at First Street Park and flown to AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center in Atlantic City, said LaRussa.

The driver's condition is not known at the time, but LaRussa said she suffered internal injuries.

Neighbors who were in the area at the time of the crash said the woman lives on Seventh Street, and was seen pulling out in front of the truck.

LaRussa said police reported the driver of the car said she had an obstructed view and didn't see the truck coming.

Shannon Wianecki lives on West Bay Avenue near the scene of the crash and heard the accident. She said it can be difficult and dangerous to pull out onto the county route from the residential side streets there.

"The speed limit is 45," she said, "but some people go faster, and you expect them to be going 45."

Before the traffic light was installed at Nautilus Drive, she said, "there was an accident every other week."

Traffic was directed around the crash scene for an hour after the accident, said LaRussa.

Charges are pending in the incident, he said.