WESTAMPTON - When a car broke down on the New Jersey Turnpike here, its occupants’ troubles were just beginning, authorities say.
A Gloucester County man who walked away from the disabled vehicle was hit by a truck on the southbound highway, according to New Jersey State Police.
Mark McCarrie, 34, of Logan, and two passengers who likewise left the car also were charged with drug offenses, according to New Jersey State Police.
The incident began when a trooper saw a man and a woman walking away from a Chrysler Sebring on the southbound turnpike in Westampton around 8:30 p.m. Tuesday, said a State Police account. The vehicle had broken down on the highway’s shoulder near milepost 40.7.
The trooper, who was initially on the northbound highway, reached the scene in time to see the man and woman enter a wooded area along the turnpike, the account said.
Charles Goodema, 41, of Mount Laurel, and Megan Winters, 27, of Avenel, Middlesex County, were arrested at a gas station on nearby Creek Road in Mount Laurel, it said.