Huge excavator topples under railroad bridge


Minhaj Hassan
Daily Record
May1, 2008

Content Source

MORRISTOWN -- A flatbed truck carrying an excavator flipped on its side as it passed beneath the NJ Transit trestle on Morris Street on Thursday afternoon, shutting down a busy central intersection and causing traffic problems throughout the day.

Witnesses said the truck flipped onto its passenger side around 1 p.m. when the arm of the excavator got caught as it passed under the railroad trestle at Morris and Elm streets.

No one was injured. The name of the truck driver was not immediately available.

The truck is owned by Superior Towing and Transport, of the Whitehouse Station section of Readington Township. A call to the company was not immediately returned.

The truck was traveling east on Morris Street when it struck the bridge. just east of the train station. The trestle has a 13-foot clearance. It was not immediately known how high the excavator stood atop the flatbed.

Several witnesses said the arm of the excavator got caught against the trestle, causing the truck to flip on its right side.

Helen Hall, who owns Long John's Sandwich Shop, located in the shadow of the train trestle, watched the accident happen.

"It was the scariest thing I've ever seen," said Hall, 70, whose business has been located near Morris Street for 38 years. "I was worried about the driver. I hope he's OK."

Julian Fowler, 33, a barber at the neighboring Main Street barber shop, said he was "frazzled" after watching the truck flip onto its side. He was outside the shop, talking on his phone, when he saw the rollover.

"I ran back into the shop and yelled 'Everyone get down," he said. "I was afraid it was going to explode."

Morristown Fire Capt. Jon Prachthauser said firefighters, along with a hazardous materials unit from the Whippany Fire Department , secured the scene after a diesel fuel spill was found.

Firefighters used blowtorches to cut through the chains that fastened the construction vehicle to the flatbed, allowing tow truck drivers to flip the flatbed back onto its tires without it becoming stuck again, he said.

Morris Street was closed for most of the afternoon between Elm Street and Ridgedale Avenue. Cars were detoured onto Elm Street from Morris Street through Blachley Place.

The Morris School District used its emergency notification system to warn parents that school buses might be delayed by the traffic jams caused by the midday accident.

Lewis Canon, 54, a driver passing through Morristown, described the traffic situation as one requiring a lot of patience.

"It's a parking lot out there," he said, as he waited in his Infiniti for the traffic to flow again.