Wrong way crash on Route 78 leaves three seriously hurt

UNION TOWNSHIP (Hunterdon) — Three people were seriously injured in a wrong way, head-on crash involving three vehicles on Route 78 early Sunday, according to police.

Leann Bambu-Kelley, 51, of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, was driving a Hyundai Sonata east in the westbound lanes of the highway near exit 12 for Route 173 just before 2 a.m., when her car sideswiped a Dodge Ram pickup truck and then crashed head-on into a Toyota Camry, according to State Police spokesman Sgt. Jeff Flynn.

The driver of the Toyota, Omar Jenkins, 41, of Sayreville, and his two passengers were flown to Morristown Medical Center with serious injuries, Flynn said. No further details about the passengers' identities was disclosed as of Sunday morning.

Bambu-Kelley was taken to St. Luke's Hospital while the driver of the Dodge, Ajshe Hajrizaj, 52, of the Stewartsville section of Greenwich Township, was taken to Hunterdon Medical Center in Flemington, according to Flynn. He said both suffered minor injuries.

Flynn said no charges had yet been filed and the crash remained under investigation.

Traffic was detoured off Route 78 westbound at exit 12 and back onto the highway past the crash scene until around 7:45 a.m. Sunday morning.

Contact reporter Dan Alexander at Dan.Alexander@townsquaremedia.com or via Twitter @DanAlexanderNJ