Six hurt in 6-car S. Jersey crash

Six people were hospitalized, including a 1-year-old child who suffered severe injuries, in a serious multi-vehicle crash in South Jersey on Monday morning.

Emergency responders were called to Route 73 near Hayes Mill Road in Winslow Township at about 6:30 a.m.

A total of six vehicles were involved in the crash in the northbound lanes of the highway, according to police.

Winslow Township police said the multicar crash happened after 19-year-old Anders Optiz's 2003 Ford 250 sideswiped a 2007 Chevrolet van driven by 60-year-old Michael Nardello.

Optiz, of Phoenixville, then struck a 2014 Mini Cooper and a 2006 Honda Accord, police said. That collision pushed the Accord into a 2008 Nissan Rogue that was stopped in traffic, which was then pushed into the Nissan Versa that was stopped in front of it.

The Mini Cooper driver, 64-year-old Joseph Duffy, of Landisville, N.J., was trapped in his vehicle and had to be extricated by emergency crews, police said.

He was taken to Cooper University Hospital by helicopter with serious injuries.

Also airlifted to Cooper was a 1-year-old child from Vineland who was in the backseat of the Accord, police said.

Four others were transported to area hospitals by ambulance: Optiz; the Rogue driver, 53-year-old Dennis Conway, of Hammonton; the Accord driver, 39-year-old Kenneth Matthews, of Port Norris, N.J.; and 28-year-old Michelle Santiago of Vineland, a passenger in one of the vehicles.

Nardello and the Versa driver, 23-year-old Faith Lenhert, of Hammonton, weren't injured.

The injuries of those taken to hospitals by ambulances weren't considered life-threatening, officials said.

Further information about the crash victims' conditions wasn't known.

The circumstances of the accident remain under investigation.

No charges had been filed as of Monday afternoon.