Fourteen people, including a dozen children, were sent to the hospital after a dump truck caused a chain-reaction crash involving a school bus in Monroe Township Thursday.
A dump truck driver traveling north on North Tuckahoe Road failed to brake for traffic caused by a stopped school bus and struck the back of a passenger vehicle with one adult and three children, according to a statement from Monroe Township police.
The force pushed that vehicle into the back of another passenger vehicle with an adult driver. The second passenger vehicle then struck the back of the school bus, which struck a second dump truck.
One child in the backseat of the first passenger vehicle got trapped and had to be removed by the fire department, according to police.
“A number of students were transported to the hospital for further evaluation. Parents of students riding the bus were immediately notified,” the statement reads. “The students were evaluated by medical staff at the hospital and subsequently released. Thankfully, the driver and students are safe and healthy.”
As of Thursday night, all 12 children and two adults sent to area hospitals for evaluation were either released or were “in stable condition with non-life-threatening injuries,” according to police.
Monroe Township police are still investigating the crash, but said the commercial carrier associated with the dump trucks is cooperating and motor vehicle complaints are pending.
Five people, including four children aboard a school bus, were sent to the hospital Wednesday morning after a crash in Washington Township, Gloucester County.
And another school bus accident in Gloucester County was reported late Thursday afternoon, but the extent of injuries was not immediately known.
On Wednesday morning, the school bus headed to Bells Elementary School — a part of Washington Township School District — was driving through an intersection across Pitman Downer Road, a short walk away from Orchard Valley Middle School, when a vehicle traveling north struck the bus at 8:43 a.m., according to a release from the Washington Township Police Department.
The driver of the vehicle driving north was transported to Jefferson Hospital with minor injuries, the release said. Four children aboard the bus were also transported “as a precaution with suspected minor injuries.”
Christopher Tarasevich, a Washington Township police officer, is still investigating the crash.
All students were evaluated at the scene by emergency personnel, with additional support from two school nurses from Bells and Orchard Valley Middle School, according to a statement from Eric Hibbs, Washington Township School District’s superintendent.
The students who did not go to the hospital were transported to Bells on another bus.
Around 4 p.m. Thursday, at least one school bus was involved in a crash with a dump truck on the 700 block of North Tuckahoe Road in Monroe Township, which neighbors Washington Township, authorities said.
Multiple ambulances were called to the scene and police said that one child was entrapped because of the crash.
An accidental discharge from an insecticide canister that fell off a shelf inside a South Jersey Walmart caused the irritating fumes that led to people being sent to hospitals for evaluation and treatment, authorities said Thursday.
The Gloucester County Office of Emergency Management said the discharge happened around 4:15 p.m. Tuesday inside the Walmart at 820 Cooper St. in Deptford when an aerosol canister of Hot Shot Flying Insect Killer fell off a shelf and discharged.
The agency said there was no evidence of malicious intent.
“Following an overnight deep cleaning of the store, while the store remained closed to customers, store personnel located the empty canister beneath a shelf,” the agency said.
Emergency officials respond to a hazmat situation at the Walmart department store at 820 Cooper St. in Deptford Township on Tuesday.Elizabeth Robertson / Staff Photographer
Additional people also sought medical evaluations on their own at a satellite medical facility, the agency said.
Product safety information for the insecticide said exposure can cause eye and skin irritation and a potential for harmful effects if swallowed or inhaled. Authorities said people inside the Walmart reported symptoms such as coughing and raspy throats.
“If you were present during the incident and experienced effects from the release but did not receive medical evaluation or transportation, you may wish to follow up with your primary healthcare provider. Anyone who develops concerning or persistent symptoms should seek appropriate medical attention,” the agency said.
New Jersey officials are warning people not to feed or engage with coyotes after a surge in sightings of the wily animals in Wildwood.
Wildwood police have received “numerous” reports of coyotes in recent weeks throughout the barrier island, the department wrote on Facebook.
“While coyotes have inhabited our island for years,” the post read, “increased attention surrounding recent sightings has resulted in greater public awareness.”
Wildwood police and a spokesperson for the city did not immediately respond Thursday to requests for more information, including how many coyote sightings have been reported. But residents told NBC10 the number of adults and pups roaming through yards and streets has seemingly increased in recent weeks.
Is there a spike in New Jersey’s coyote population?
New Jersey Fish and Wildlife keeps track of reported sightings but doesn’t maintain localized or statewide estimates on the number of coyotes because “quantifying any wild populations can be challenging,” a spokesperson said in an email. According to 2025 data, coyotes have been reported in 88% of New Jersey’s 568 municipalities.
It’s not unusual for coyotes to be comfortable around human activity, according to the wildlife department: “The coyote is one of the most resilient and prolific canine species in the world – adapting to ever changing habitat conditions while continuing to expand its range,” the spokesperson said.
Coyotes are important members of ecosystems, helping keep rodent populations under control, according to New Jersey Fish and Wildlife. But they can threaten human safety, attack small pets, or cause property damage. The agency says attacks on humans are “extremely rare.”
In Wildwood, officials are concerned people are intentionally feeding the animals, causing them to “lose their natural fear of people” and “become increasingly comfortable in populated areas,” the police department wrote.
“Coyotes are wild animals. Keeping them wild means not feeding them,” the post continued. Feeding wildlife is illegal under a Wildwood city ordinance and punishable by a fine up to $500, according to police.
Wildwood police stressed that people who encounter a coyote should keep a safe distance, control and supervise pets, and report any coyotes exhibiting unusual or aggressive behavior.
As concerns about surveillance cameras mount nationwide, Shamong Township is taking steps to limit the use of Flock cameras and other automated license plate readers.
Shamong Mayor Michael Di Croce introduced an ordinance Tuesday that would establish a one-year moratorium on automated license plate readers and other vehicle surveillance technology on township rights-of-way and on township-owned property.
Flock cameras capture the license plates and other vehicle features, like bumper stickers or dents, of each passing car and compiles them into a searchable database.
“Flock cameras basically create a surveillance system for people who have done nothing wrong,” Di Croce said at Tuesday’s township committee meeting.
“I am opposed and I hope that my fellow committee members will agree that we don’t need to create another surveillance system that tracks people and where they’re going,” he said, noting that location data is already collected through E-ZPass and cell phone GPS.
“We should not create a permanent or searchable record of where law-abiding residents drive merely because they happen to pass a government camera or in the case of Flock, private-entity cameras,” he said.
“I’m not opposed to technology that helps the police solve crimes,” Di Croce said. “I’m opposed to turning Shamong into a surveillance community without demonstrating that the benefits outweigh the cost, violating our privacy implications with the potential for misuse and the loss of local control over our residents’ data.”
Shamong is not alone in its concerns about the use of surveillance technology.
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro has “real concerns” about Flock cameras and is open to considering a statewide ban on the technology, a spokesperson said this week.
The ordinance is “just a statement that we don’t want these cameras in Shamong and we’re not going to have them on any township property,” Di Croce said.
Residents can weigh in on the proposed ordinance before the committee votes on its adoption on Oct. 6 at the Shamong Municipal Building.
One of Burlington County’s most popular public libraries is getting a major upgrade — its first in nearly three decades.
The Evesham Library in Marlton, part of the Burlington County Library System (BCLS), will be getting a new technology center and expand its children’s area and activity/meeting room as part of the $500,000 project.
“The improvements planned for the Evesham library will allow it to better serve residents of all ages and become an even greater resource for the community,” Burlington County Library Commission Chair Jonathan Chebra said in a statement announcing the effort.
Renovations are underway and expected to wrap up by the end of the year, the county said.
The library, which opened in 1998 as part of Evesham Township’s new municipal building complex, will remain open for visitors during the renovations.
The Evesham branch is the second most-used location in the BCLS, the county said, recording more than 215,390 checkouts in 2025. The Evesham location also has the second-highest active library users in the BCLS with nearly 10,000 active accounts.
“Evesham is Burlington County’s most populous municipality, so it’s absolutely essential that it continue to have a state-of-the-art library to serve the town and the surrounding communities,” Burlington County Commissioner Tom Pullion, liaison to the BCLS, said in a statement.
Half the funding for the project came from a $1 million state grant for capital improvements to the BCLS as part of the New Jersey’s 2023 budget. The library system matched the remaining $250,000 for the renovations in Evesham, the county said.
Burlington County’s main library branch in Westampton and the libraries in Pemberton and Cinnaminson will share the rest of the state funding, according to the county.
Pemberton branch’s renovation wrapped earlier this year and work on the Cinnaminson library is expected to finish in the fall, the county said. Meanwhile, renovations at the main branch in Westampton are still in the early stages of planning and design.
“Burlington County’s libraries are proven difference-makers and the investments we make to improve them directly benefit our residents and communities,” Burlington County Commissioner Randy Brolo said in a statement.
Special education and the student use of electronic devices will likely be two hot topics when candidates for the Cherry Hill Board of Education are questioned at a forum in two weeks.
Jamie Marchese, chair of the Zone PTA for South Jersey’s largest school district, said special education usually comes up at candidate forums and, this year, screen time by students is a big issue.
Cherry Hill schools also are in the midst of a massive renovation program, financed by a $363 million bond referendum passed by voters in 2022.
The forum for the eight school board candidates, sponsored by the parent–teacher association and moderated by the League of Women Voters, will be held on Tuesday, Sept. 15 from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. in the Cherry Hill High School West auditorium — the first in-person forum since the pandemic. The audience also can join in remotely by Zoom.
The five-member Zone PTA board represents the school district’s 18 school PTAs and the special education PTA.
Marchese said residents have been asking for a live audience for the annual forum.
“Not everyone likes to sit in front of a screen and watch,” she said.
Voters will cast their ballots in advance or go to the polls on Nov. 3 to select three board members for three-year terms.
The candidates, in the order they are listed on the ballot and their slogans, are:
Melissa Manzano (incumbent), Experience in Education
Darby Malvey, Experience in Education
Renee Cherfane (incumbent), Learn, Then Rebuild
Joseph Lynch, Leadership, Results, Integrity
Harold “Hal” Melleby Jr., Experience-Leadership-Community
Residents have until Sept. 11 to submit their questions for the candidates, said Marchese, who lives in the Windsor Park neighborhood and has three children in Cherry Hill schools. Questions can be submitted via Google form.
Marchese said that some questions may be combined because of the time constraints on the two-hour forum.
The forum will open with candidates spending two minutes each to present their platforms. Each candidate will also get a two-minute closing statement at the end of the forum.
Candidates are also given one minute to respond to each of the questions.
All community members are invited to attend, Marchese said. In November, voters will select Board of Education members “to represent us in our wants and needs for our public schools,” she said.
70and73.com is a hyperlocal news site focused on South Jersey, including the communities of Cherry Hill, Evesham, Mount Laurel, Voorhees, Medford, Medford Lakes, and Moorestown.
Christine Trampe, superintendent of Mantua Township School District in Gloucester County, announced Wednesday night that Thursday would be a staff in-service day and that the first day for Mantua schools would now be Tuesday.
The district’s first day was supposed to be this past Wednesday before downed trees, power lines, and debris meant families couldn’t make it to school safely.
More than 1,200 Atlantic City Electric customers were without power in Mantua Township Wednesday morning. That number was down to about 50 customers by Thursday morning.
A developer that planned to build six homes on the site of the closed Barton Run Swim Club in Evesham would sell the property to the township to preserve it as open space, according to a letter of intent from the town.
The 3.84-acre property on Lakeside Drive would be cleared by developer Orleans Investment Land Associates and Evesham would pay between $670,000 and $810,000 for the land, according to the township, which on Wednesday announced it had secured a $405,000 New Jersey Green Acres Program grant to help fund the purchase.
Evesham has budgeted from Township Open Space funds the balance of the purchase price, which is a range because it requires a Green Acres appraisal, Zane Clark, Evesham director of public information, said in an email.
Township council authorized the letter of intent at its meeting earlier this month.
“Once formal closing proceedings on the property are completed, and the land is restored to open space, the Township will begin engaging the community so residents can help plan for the future uses at the new park,” Clark wrote.
Orleans would be responsible for demolishing the clubhouse and pool, filling the land and planting grass at the club, which closed about 10 years ago.
Clark said the township also is seeking grants to finance rain gardens on the site.
“By securing this Green Acres funding and approving this letter of intent, we are protecting the neighborhood from further development and creating new open space for the public to enjoy,” Mayor Jaclyn Veasy said in a statement. “Once the land is under municipal ownership, the Township will ensure its safe upkeep and long-term care,” she added.
In recent years, Evesham Township has been aggressive about acquiring land to preserve as open space.
Projects have included preserving 176 acres of the former Beagle Club property on North Elmwood Road and purchasing 18 acres from the Board of Education off Greenbrook Drive in the Country Farms neighborhood.
However the town’s landmark preservation project, announced earlier this year, was the $15-million acquisition of 835 acres next to the Black Run Preserve by the New Jersey Conservation Foundation. After the purchase, the township will assume ownership and oversee the preservation of the land. The Black Run Preserve, also owned by Evesham, covers 1,300 acres.
70and73.com is a hyperlocal news site focused on South Jersey, including the communities of Cherry Hill, Evesham, Mount Laurel, Voorhees, Medford, Medford Lakes, and Moorestown.
Burlington Stores, the discount retailer named for its longtime South Jersey home, is spending millions on new corporate offices in Philadelphia, marking the first time in decades the city has welcomed the headquarters of a Fortune 500 company.
In all, Burlington plans to spend $370 million on the move, and is set to receive another $30 million in state grants. The city is also providing a $7 million forgivable loan, a job-creation tax credit, and a $1 million investment that will give Burlington workers free SEPTA passes for a year.
Burlington eventually plans to relocate 1,500 employees from New Jersey to the new Philly headquarters, a spokesperson said, and hire another 500. The company has no plans for layoffs.
They plan to gradually move employees by team. The moves will begin no earlier than late 2028.
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro called the move “one of the largest corporate relocations ever in the commonwealth,” at an event Thursday in the lobby of Burlington’s new headquarters.
Burlington CEO Michael O’Sullivan, Gov. Josh Shapiro, and Mayor Cherelle L. Parker announce the retailer’s forthcoming move to Philadelphia.Jessica Griffin / Staff Photographer
“It’s going to put West Philly and our growing downtown district on the map as a premier spot for some of the largest companies in the world,” said the governor, who announced the news Thursday alongside Mayor Cherelle L.Parker, Burlington CEO Michael O’Sullivan, Brandywine Realty Trust CEO Jerry Sweeney, and other state and local officials.
Philly’s gain comes at a loss for New Jersey: Burlington has been based in its namesake Burlington Township for more than half a century. It opened its first store there in 1972.
New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill’s office said in a statement that they were “disappointed by Burlington’s decision to relocate its headquarters.” But “the company will continue to maintain a significant presence and thousands of jobs here in New Jersey.”
Burlington Stores headquarters in Burlington, N.J., as seen in 2025.Jose F. Moreno / Staff Photographer
About 4,700 people worked at Burlington’s corporate campus and warehouses in Burlington County as of last year, with 2,100 people employed in Philly-area stores. A company spokesperson said Thursday that the company employs 8,000 across New Jersey.
As for its current headquarters on U.S. Route 130 North, Burlington intends to have it rezoned for warehouse space and turn some of the property into farmland. The company plans to keep its New Jersey warehouse and distribution centers in Burlington, Edgewater Park, Florence, and Logan Township.
Burlington’s move is the latest win for Parker and Shapiro, who is up for reelection in November, as well as the governor’s Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED). Earlier this week, Shapiro’s administration announced $50 million in state grants and loans to help fund the yogurt company Chobani’s expansion into Allentown.
“This is another day in what’s been just a monster week,” DCED Secretary Rick Siger said. “It’s another proof point of Pennsylvania’s strength as a business destination.”
“What we’ve seen today is what can happen through a public-private partnership when leaders have a shared vision, a dedication to cause, and an unwavering commitment to the exciting future we can create by working together,” said Sweeney, Brandywine’s CEO, on Thursday.
(function() { var l = function() { new pym.Parent( ‘burlington-move__graphic’, ‘https://media.inquirer.com/storage/inquirer/ai2html/burlington-move/index.html’); }; if(typeof(pym) === ‘undefined’) { var h = document.getElementsByTagName(‘head’)[0], s = document.createElement(‘script’); s.type = ‘text/javascript’; s.src = ‘https://pym.nprapps.org/pym.v1.min.js’; s.onload = l; h.appendChild(s); } else { l(); } })();
Burlington was initially drawn to Philly because of the city’s history and culture, including its food scene, artistic institutions, and sports fandom, according to O’Sullivan. But the CEO said conversations with Shapiro and Parker “pushed this decision over the line.”
“We found the vision that they laid out for the city and the state hugely compelling,” he said. “We were very impressed by their clear priorities and their focus on getting stuff done around economic development, education and training, public transportation, public safety, and fiscal responsibility.”
Burlington has been expanding in recent years as more consumers, including higher-income shoppers, flock to discount retailers.
Shoppers and employees at the Burlington Store at 833 Market St. in Philadelphia in 2018.Jessica Griffin / Staff Photographer
As of August, the company operated 1,300 stores in 47 states, including eight in Philadelphia and dozens across the region. By the end of the year, the company plans to open another 115 stores and hire 5,000 more employees, O’Sullivan said Thursday.
The chain’s growth has paid off, with a 21% increase in net income and a 9% jump in sales last year.
In an earnings call, O’Sullivan attributed those numbers to the company’s tariff response, which included inventory reductions, price increases on certain items, and an aggressive cutting of expenses.
Burlington has continued to report strong earnings in the first half of 2026, with a boost from $55 million in tariff refunds. O’Sullivan has said the company plans to put that money toward more markdowns for customers.
Shapiro and Parker both said they had shopped at Burlington, with Shapiro patronizing the Jenkintown store and Parker frequenting the location at the former Cheltenham Mall in Wyncote.
O’Sullivan said with a laugh: “The mayor and the governor got my full attention when they independently confirmed that they both exclusively wear clothes from Burlington.”
