July 21, 2026
Thom Carroll/For Philly Voice
Gloucester County prosecutors are investigating a fatal car crash that occurred on Route 55 in Mantua Township after a 41-year-old woman attempted to flee a traffic stop.
A 41-year-old woman died after crashing a car into a tree in South Jersey while fleeing police early Monday morning, prosecutors said. A 5-year-old child who also was in the vehicle survived the crash, but was injured.
Holly Hageman had been riding in the backseat of the car when Mantua Township police stopped the vehicle for a traffic offense at 11:57 p.m. Sunday near mile marker 50 on southbound Route 55, Gloucester County prosecutors said.
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As the driver was standing outside of the car with a police officer, Hageman was ordered to exit the vehicle, prosecutors said. Instead, she maneuvered from the backseat, took control of the vehicle and fled.
Mantua police initially were unable to locate Hageman and transported the original driver to the police department, prosecutors said. The driver's name and the nature of the traffic stop were not released.
While at the station, New Jersey State Police notified Mantua police that Hageman had crashed the car into a tree about three miles from the site of the traffic stop, prosecutors said.
The child, whose identity and relation to the other people in the car were not released, sustained injuries that "do not appear life threatening," prosecutors said.
A spokesperson from the prosecutor's office said no further information about the case could be provided on Tuesday morning. An investigation remains underway.
