Two boys on bikes hurt when hit by truck in Mullica

From the Press of Atlantic City, April 18, 2010

Two teenagers were hurt Saturday morning when a pickup truck hit them as they rode bicycles on a hilly stretch of Columbia Road, police said.

One boy was suffered moderate head and chest injuries but was airlifted to AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center, City Campus in Atlantic City, Mullica Detective Sgt. John Thompson said. The other was taken by ambulance to AtlantiCare's Mainland Campus in Galloway Township but apparently only had to be treated for scrapes and bruises, Thompson said.

Neither boy was wearing a helmet when the accident happened about 9 a.m. Saturday, Thompson said, adding that a third boy had been riding bikes with the two but the truck did not hit him. Thompson said he did not have the boys' names Saturday afternoon.

Michael Simmons, 36, of the Nesco section of Mullica Township, was driving north on Columbia Road near Moores Avenue "when he came over a hill and found the three bicyclists in his lane," Thompson said. He said the driver "tried to avoid the collision," but could not, and that the road has several sharp curves and hills in it as it runs between the rural township's Elwood and Nesco sections.

Simmons was not hurt in the accident, and police did not file any charges against him, Thompson said.

Columbia Road, also known as Atlantic County Route 658, had to be shut down to traffic for more than 45 minutes after the crash. Both boys were lying in the road after the truck hit them, Thompson said.