Vehicle crashes into house on Route 57 in Warren County

One person was killed and another was in critical condition after a pickup truck went airborne and smashed into the second-floor bedroom of a home on Route 57 early Sunday, authorities said.

The driver may face serious charges as speed and alcohol were believed to be factors in the crash, Warren County Prosecutor James L. Pfeiffer told lehighvalleylive.com. Pfeiffer described it as “one of the worst crash scenes that we’ve ever seen.”

As rescue crews labored around 3:30 a.m., the cab of the red Dodge Ram faced upward into the gaping hole exposing the bedroom in the Route 57 home in Washington Township, near the border with Mansfield Township, photos of the scene showed.

Roughly an hour earlier, 27-year-old John Nunn, of Washington Borough, was heading east when he attempted to pass two other vehicles and lost control, hitting a mailbox and a stone pillar as the pickup careened into the house, Pfeiffer said.

That section of Route 57 does not allow passing.

Nunn was thrown from the vehicle during the crash and found in the first floor, Pfieffer said. His injuries were minor, authorities said.

A passenger, Tyler Balog, 24, also of Washington Borough, was pronounced dead at the scene, the prosecutor said.

The homeowners were in the house when the truck hit it, authorities said. One of them, a woman, was in the bedroom, Pfeiffer said. She was flown to Morristown Medical Center where she was in critical condition on Sunday morning, he said.

The other homeowner, a man, was not the bedroom at the time and was not hurt, officials said. He was taken to Hackettstown Medical Center as a precaution, Pfeiffer said.

The Warren County Prosecutor’s Office is reviewing the case for charges.

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Steve Novak may be reached at snovak@lehighvalleylive.com.

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