Large Brush Fire Along Parkway in Cheesequake State Park Under Control

The approximately 5-acre fire caused state police to close the right lane on the southbound side Thursday morning.

Flames and thick smoke could be seen billowing from Cheesequake State Park by Garden State Parkway commuters Thursday morning as a fire quickly spread through the brush. New Jersey State Police received a call around 9 a.m. alerting them of the fire near the guardrail on the southbound side of the Parkway near milemarker 122. About fifteen minutes later, officers closed the right lane while firefighters from Old Bridge, Laurence Harbor, Cheesequake and Sayreville worked to bring the approximately five acre blaze under control.  The traffic lane was reopened at about 10:30 a.m., according to state police, as fire departments finished up at the scene.  The New Jersey Forest Fire Service (NJFFS) also responded. Cheesequake State Park …

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Update: Driver Charged with DWI After Two-Car Crash on Route 35 and County Road

Old Bridge and Aberdeen Police responded to the scene last night, involving two cars.

Update, 10 a.m. Feb. 1: An Asbury Park man was charged with driving while intoxicated, driving while suspended, unlicensed driver and reckless driving after a two vehicle accident on Route 35 in Cliffwood Beach at about 6 p.m. on Thursday.  According to Aberdeen Police Chief John Powers, John Ashenbrener, 37, was driving a 2006 Hyundai on Route 35 South when he rear-ended a 1999 Infiniti stopped at a red light on the highway at the intersection of County Road. The Hyundai overturned and came to rest across the intersection on the median of Route 35. Ashenbrener was ejected from the car and was transported to Robert Wood Johnson by MONOC ambulance.  The driver of the Infiniti, identified as Edward Thompson of Matawan Road in Old Bridge, was…

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Old Bridge Police: Cause of Route 9 Bus Accident Remains Under Investigation

An accident involving a commuter bus and a school bus injured 35 people Thursday morning.

Update 5:45 p.m. Thirty-five people were reported injured after an Academy commuter bus and an Old Bridge school bus collided on Route 9 North in Old Bridge Township Thursday morning, according to Cpt. Art Carullo. The accident was reported to police at 8:18 a.m. No children were on the medium-sized school bus at the time of the accident, he said. The school bus was traveling in the right lane of the highway and turning right into the Stratford Apartments on Arcade Lane when the accident occurred. The Academy bus, identified as bus number 8592, was traveling in the designated bus lane. The cause of the accident remains under investigation and no fault has been determined, Carullo said.  When the two buses struck, the school bus rolled and …

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John Tyler

10:04 pm on Friday, January 11, 2013

At one time I heard that the drivers get paid by the trip, I don't know if that is so but that could explain why they are driving the way they do. Get one trip done so you can do another one??   more ›

Hurricane Sandy

Sections of Route 35 in Aberdeen and Old Bridge Closed Due to Flooding

Water levels are already rising on the flood-prone section of highway.

Sections of Route 35 in Aberdeen and Old Bridge are already closed due to flooding. All lanes between County Road and Cliffwood Avenue are blocked off as drivers are detoured around the gathering water. All southbound lanes are blocked in the area of the Morgan drawbridge near Cheesequake Creek. Route 35 is no stranger to flooding. During Irene, the water level between County Road and Cliffwood Avenue rose above the highway divider. Ravine Drive in Matawan between Wykoff and Matawan Avenue was closed yesterday in anticipation of the predicted flooding. Drivers are reminded to observe all road closures and to never attempt to drive through a flooded street. More information on road closures can be found at 511nj.org. Where is there flooding…

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Father and Son Charged With Fraudulent Foreclosure Scheme

Investigators say the father, of Jackson, allegedly promised to bail out homeowners from foreclosure but instead sold the homes to unwitting investors while conspiring with the son, of Old Bridge, to steal millions from lenders.

A father and son were charged today in an alleged scheme in which the father allegedly promised to rescue homeowners facing foreclosure, but instead sold their homes to investors and conspired with the son to steal $4.5 million from lenders by filing fraudulent mortgage applications in the investor's names, according to Attorney General Jeffrey Chiesa. Vito Grippo, 47, of Jackson and his son, Frederick Grippo, 32, of Old Bridge, were charged by a complaint summons with conspiracy and theft by deception. Vito Grippo was also charged with money laundering and theft by failure to make required disposition of property received, according to the Office of the Attorney General. All of the charges are in the second degree and are the result of an…

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Prosecutor's Office Releases 911 Calls from Old Bridge Pathmark Shooting

Employees can be heard calling to report the Aug. 31 shooting

A woman's panicked breathing can be heard as she tells a 911 operator that there is a gunman shooting at the Pathmark on Route 9 in Old Bridge. She asks repeatedly for police to hurry and explains to the operator that she and fellow coworkers are hiding in a backroom, uncertain of where or who the shooter is, or if anyone was shot. "I don't want to die, please," she pleads to the operator. "He can get in. He has a gun, he has a gun." Today, the Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office released the audio recordings of the 911 calls made during the Aug. 31 shooting at Pathmark, where 23-year-old Terence Tyler left his overnight shift early and returned with an AK-47, a hand gun, and multiple ammunition magazines. He opened fire in the store and …

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Blood Drive Aims to Collect Over 12,000 Units of Blood to Honor Sept. 11 Victims

Muslims For Life will hold their second annual nationwide blood drive, with two donation locations in Old Bridge

One unit of blood at a time, Muslims for Life are working toward exceeding their goal of collecting 12,000 units of blood in honor of the victims of Sept. 11. Local blood drive organizer Abdul Nasir explained that Muslims for Life is a national initiative that for the second year in a row is running blood drives across the country. In 2011, they were able to exceed their goal of 11,000 by 803 units, according to the Muslims for Life website. "Last year we surpassed our target and this year we are going to go way beyond our target," Nasir said. "We want to do something to save some lives." Two blood drives will take place in Old Bridge this weekend. The first will be on Saturday, Sept. 8 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Senior Center in the Old…

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Memorial Constructed Outside Pathmark for Victims of Shooting

Pathmark remains closed, but mourners are visiting the site to pay tribute to the victims of the Old Bridge shooting.

A makeshift memorial has been created outside of the Pathmark in Old Bridge, to remember the lives of Cristina LoBrutto, 18, and Bryan Breen, 24, who were both shot down last week by fellow Pathmark employee Terence Tyler. Friends, family and supporters of LoBrutto, Old Bridge and Breen, Laurence Harbor have laid flowers, candles and posters at the scene to show support for the victims of the workplace shooting. A large sign with the words "In Memory of Cristina & Bryan" covers the once-shattered windows of the Old Bridge supermarket. A vigil for LoBrutto and Breen was held just hours after the shooting at Old Bridge High School, of which both were graduates. LoBrutto had not yet began her first college semester at Brookdale Community …

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Funeral Services Set for Victims of Old Bridge Shooting

The Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office said the victims were each killed with single gunshot wounds.

Funeral services for the two young victims of a shooting at Pathmark in Old Bridge have been scheduled for this week. Christine LoBrutto, 18 and Bryan Breen, 24 were both killed on Friday from single gunshot wounds fired from guns of fellow employee Terence Tyler, according to the Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office.  Services for Breen will be held Wednesday morning at the Old Bridge Funeral Home, immediately followed by a burial at Chestnut Hill Cemetery. A viewing will be held Tuesday from 5 to 9 p.m. Services for LoBrutto will be held Thursday at 10 a.m., at St. Ambrose Church in Old Bridge, immediately followed by a burial at St. Gabriel Cemetery in Marlboro. A viewing is scheduled for Wednesday from 2 to 4 p.m. and 7 to 9 p.m., at …

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Friends and Family Remember Victims of Old Bridge Shooting with Vigil

The community came together for a vigil Friday night in honor of the Old Bridge shooting victims.

A teenage girl wearing an Old Bridge High School t-shirt walked slowly up to a collage of photos displaying the smiling faces of Christina LoBrutto and Bryan Breen. One of the first to arrive Friday night, she knelt near the pink, purple, yellow, and green candles decorating the pavement in front of the collage. Cautiously, she held a lighter to a pink candle. A spark finally flew and brought the candle to life, acknowledging the heart-wrenching fact that earlier that same day two young Old Bridge High School alumni were shot and killed while working an overnight shift at Pathmark. Friends and family recalled the lives that LoBrutto, 18, who was signed up and ready to begin college at Brookdale, and Breen, 24, who was a student at …

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