Crime & Safety

One Man Dead After Accident on Terrill Road

Dump truck flipped over around 2:30 p.m.

The driver of a dump truck was killed when it overturned on Terrill Road this afternoon around 2:30 p.m. Scotch Plains police blocked off the road after the truck flipped on its side near the intersection of Raritan Road.

The identity of the victim, a 62-year-old man, was not released, but Scotch Plains Police Chief Brian Mahoney said he was not from Scotch Plains or Fanwood. The owner of the dump truck was also not identified.

The driver died after being thrown through the passenger window of the vehicle. Chief Mahoney said he couldn't confirm it for certain, but he believed the driver was not wearing a seat belt.

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Chief Mahoney said officers who first arrived at the scene attempted to revive the driver but were unable to do so. Members of the Scotch Plains Rescue Squad confirmed the fatality.

The  superintendent of the nearby Ash Brook Golf Course said some of his employees told him that the truck overturned as the driver was trying to avoid a station wagon that was turning in front of him. But Chief Mahoney said he could not confirm that account and that the accident is still under investigation.

Find out what's happening in Scotch Plains-Fanwoodwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

As of 4:30 p.m. officers were allowing traffic from Raritan Road to turn left on Terrill Road, but the right turn was blocked by police cars and orange traffic cones. Officers also have Terrill Road blocked at Cooper Road. The area is expected to be closed for some time, until authorities can get the dump truck upright. The truck was carrying a load of dirt.

Scotch Plains police were assisted by the Union County Fatal Accident Bureau. 

The accident was the second to occur in our area this afternoon. Shortly before 1 p.m., two vehicles collided at the intersection of Terrill Road and LaGrande Avenue, causing an SUV carrying a Scotch Plains woman and her 23-year-old daughter to flip over in the road. The woman was transported to University Hospital in Newark. The driver of the other vehicle, a Plainfield man in his 70s, was taken to Overlook Hospital in Summit. Both had to be extricated from their vehicles by the Plainfield Fire Deparment using Jaws of Life.


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