Investigation Continues After Truck Strikes New Jersey Overpass, Killing A Motorist

There was one fatality reported after a truck struck an overpass while traveling on Route 3 West in Rutherford New Jersey.

Police say that the truck hit the Orient Way overpass around 2:30 p.m. yesterday, causing a shipping container to dislodge. After the shipping container dislodged, it then fell on top of a car, crushing it and killing a passenger. Another vehicle was hit and its driver had to be rescued.

The truck driver, 50-year-old Ali Mutakabb, was described as extremely distressed by witnesses.

Two lanes of westbound Route 3 were closed for hours, bringing traffic to a near standstill until late in the evening.

A spokesman for the New Jersey DOT could not tell reporters either the height of the truck or the height of the bridge shortly after the crash, but other sources say the bridge was 14 feet.

The person who was killed has just been identified as 39-year-old James Hart III. Police are still investigating and have not yet issued any summons.

Source:
NJ
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