Authorities are investigating whether a Lower Township man's history of seizures caused his fatal, high-speed, fiery crash into a Garden State Parkway toll booth last week.
Bernard King, 52, had a history of seizures and apparently had a seizure only a few hours before the 8:30 a.m. accident, according to State Police and King's mother, Edna King. Edna King said her son was taken from the Atlantic City Hilton Casino Resort, where he worked as a dealer, to AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center, City Campus, at about 5:30 a.m.
State Police Capt. Al Della Fave also said King was taken to the hospital after suffering a seizure that some witnesses believed to be a stroke.
"It wasn't," he said. "It was a seizure. He was inclined to have seizures."
When asked about King, a hospital spokeswoman said there was "no information about that name."
The cause of King's seizures was not available.
Edna King spoke only briefly Monday about last week's events and her son, saying, "Right now, I'm getting ready to bury him."
"It was so fast," she said.
Edna King said she's also trying to find out just what happened Thursday.
"There's a lot of things up in the air," she said.
An autopsy performed Thursday on King by the Atlantic County Medical Examiner's Office listed the cause of death as traumatic injuries and thermal burns.
Atlantic County Medical Examiner Dr. Hydow Park was not available to comment Monday about whether the autopsy revealed anything related to King's seizure.
According to the Casino Control Commission, King held a casino dealer's license since 1986.
King was heading south on the parkway when he crashed into a concrete barrier and toll booth at the toll plaza. State Police estimated King was traveling about 65 mph.
King's car immediately burst into flames. State Police working a nearby truck-exhaust checkpoint rushed to the scene, only to have their rescue attempt foiled by flames from the burning car.
Fire and rescue units quickly arrived at the scene, along with other State Police units.
The crash closed at least three toll lanes, and parkway operators waived tolls for about an hour at the remaining toll lanes to keep traffic moving quickly through the scene.
The Great Egg toll plaza is one of three toll plazas on the southern end of the parkway that has been converted into one-way toll plazas in an attempt to improve traffic flow.
