3-year-old Lakewood girl darted onto road on bike, was struck and killed

LAKEWOOD — The toddler killed when struck by a vehicle mid-day Thursday was just 3 years old, the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office said that evening.

Police responded to 424 7th Street for a report of a pedestrian struck and found the girl in the road, next to her bicycle, the prosecutor's office said. Arriving paramedics pronounced the child deceased at the scene.

A preliminary investigation found a Ford F550 pickup truck driven by a 40-year-old man had been traveling East on 7th Street when the girl exited her driveway directly in the path of the vehicle without warning, resulting in the girl being run over, the prosecutor's office said.

The truck driver allowed authorities to search his cellular phone, which didn't show signs it was being used in the moments before, the prosecutor's office said. He also provided consent for a blood sample at Monmouth Medical Center's Southern Campus.

It wasn't clear from information provided by the prosecutor's office whether the girl was being supervised when she rode out into the road. The prosecutor's office said more information would be released after further investigation and family notifications.