Two die in car crashes Sunday

N.J. (AP) -- A man has died in a single-car crash on a northern New Jersey roadway in Wayne Sunday.

(katifcam, ThinkStock)

Wayne police say 58-year-old township resident Stephen Frances was eastbound on Ratzer Road when his car struck a utility pole around 11 a.m. Sunday.

Frances was conscious and alert when emergency responders arrived on scene. But he died at a hospital a short time later.

The cause of the crash remains under investigation. Authorities said it did not appear that any other vehicles were involved in the accident.

Authorities also say a man was killed when he lost control of his vehicle and it struck a fence and tree in Howell.

Howell Township police tell the Asbury Park Press that 43-year-old Russell Banasiak, of Woodbridge Township was killed in the crash on Fort Plains Road. But the cause of the accident remains under investigation.

Banasiak had left his girlfriend's home in nearby Jackson Township shortly before the crash occurred around 12:15 a.m. Sunday. He was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead a short time later.

Banasiak was alone in his vehicle when the crash occurred, and it did not appear that any other vehicles were involved in the accident.