Manchester, Toms River women suffer severe burns in ATV crash

Two women, one from Toms River and the other from Manchester, are both on a journey to recovery after suffering severe burns when the ATV they were riding on overturned and started a fire in a wooded area in Whiting.

Through their investigation, Manchester Police said that they learned from the women that they were riding a Polaris ATV across wooded trails near Roosevelt Boulevard and Trenton Avenue on Wednesday around 6:14 pm when it flipped over and caught fire.

Both women, 20-year-old Nicole Rasmussen of Manchester and 20-year-old Victoria Labrecque of Toms River, suffered severe burns as a result to their head, back, arms, and face but were able to walk to a nearby home and get help, waiting there until first aid arrived at the scene.

Police learned the fire was still going following the crash and so the Whiting Volunteer Fire Department and New Jersey State Forest Fire Service responded and were able to extinguish the fire at the ATV and surrounding wooded area.

Rasmussen and Labrecque were treated at the scene by Manchester Township EMS and were then flown to St. Barnabas Medical Center Livingston Burn Center by Medivac.

The crash remains under investigation by Manchester Police Sgt. Paul Bachovchin with their department’s Traffic Safety Unit.

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