Man Helping Stranded Driver Hit By Flying Tire On Route 18

A West Orange man suffered broken bones when he was hit by a flying tire while trying to help a relative whose car became disabled on Route 18 Monday, police said.

Paul Tillman, 63, stopped to help a stranded driver on the state highway near the Monmouth Boulevard overpass around 4:00 p.m. when a tire from a 2005 Chevrolet pickup being operated by 30-year-old Jackson resident Jason Wright lost its front left tire and struck Tillman as he stood on the side of the road, Sgt. Erik Ertle said.

The impact sent Tillman over a guardrail with a broken leg and arm, Ertle said. Debris from the pickup also started a small brush fire in the median, which was quickly extinguished by the Glendola Fire Company, Ertle said.

Tillman was tended to by Wall EMS and taken to Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune. The incident is being investigated by Patrolman Miles Shanklin, Ertle said.

Minutes earlier on the other side of town, police arrested a 25-year-old Ocean Township man, charging him with drunken driving after he caused, and fled from, two separate accidents, Ertle said.

Jonathan Rahal was charged with driving while intoxicated around 3:40 p.m. Monday after he hit a utility pole on Route 35 South at Meetinghouse Road and left the scene, Ertle said.

Rahal was then involved in a second accident at Route 35 and Lakewood Road, Ertle said. Rahal in his 2005 BMW hit a 2007 Jeep head-on and left the scene of that accident as well. Ertle said.

The occupants of the Jeep, a Wall resident and a 12-year-old girl who police did not identify, were unharmed. The utility pole had minor damage, Ertle said.

Rahal was arrested at Ramshorn Drive with the assistance of an off-duty Manasquan Police officer who relayed Rahal’s location, Ertle said.

Rahal was charged with driving while intoxicated, possession of less than 50 grams of marijuana, possession of drug paraphernalia and a host of motor vehicle summonses, Ertle said.