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Crime & Safety

Lightning Strikes Telephone Pole in Lincroft; Route 520 Closes

A telephone pole was struck by lightning, causing power outages in the Lincroft area and closing Newman Springs Road.

Lightning struck a telephone pole on Newman Springs Road in Lincroft at about 12:50 p.m. Monday, causing local businesses and traffic lights to lose power.

The Middletown Township Fire Dept. responded to the fire and closed down part of the busy roadway, also known as Route 520, that extends from the Exxon gas station to the Lincroft Fire Co. building.

Witnesses lined the streets and took video and cell phone pictures of the accident.

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Wendy Bennett, an ACME employee, captured the explosion on her phone as she stood outside ACME with fellow employees watching the fire.

“We saw the pole on fire and it just continued to rise up the pole and then we just heard a loud explosion,” Bennett said.

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The road remains closed as of 1:43 p.m. and will be reopened once the fire is completely extinguished and the fire department declares it safe to drive down. 

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