MOTOR VEHICLE ACCIDENT

Date & Time: Tuesday, September 23, 2008 – 12:42 p.m.

Location: Route 206 near Rider University, Lawrence Township, N.J.

Details: Lawrence Road Fire Co. was dispatched at 12:42 p.m. to assist police at the scene of a single-vehicle accident. Firefighters arrived to find that a Pontiac Grand Am being driven by a 24-year-old man from Wrightstown had veered off Route 206 and slammed into a utility pole just south of Rider University's main entrance. The force of the impact crushed the front of the car and snapped the utility pole in half, causing power lines it supported to sag dangerously low across the road. As a result, the Rider campus and the surrounding area lost power. Despite the severity of the crash, the driver was not trapped and refused medical treatment. Fearing that the upper half of the pole — which was supported only by the overhead wires to which it was attached — might fall, police immediately shut down both sides of Route 206, detouring southbound traffic past the crash scene by way of the Rider campus and sending northbound traffic onto Princeton Pike via Darrah Lane. Firefighters helped police secure the area around the damaged pole until PSE&G repair crews arrived and shut off power. Ultimately, the road was closed for about 90 minutes. Station 22 personnel cleared the scene at 1:29 p.m. to respond to a fire alarm activation on Pine Knoll Drive.

Responding LRFC Personnel

Rescue 22

Officer: Lt. Joseph Dlabik Jr.	Driver: Paid Driver Robert Santello
Crew: Ff. Ryan Dlabik	Crew: Ff. Michael Guala

Utility 22

Ff. Michael Ratcliffe

Private Vehicle

Fire Police Capt. Robert Hazen

All photos copyright (c) 2008 by Michael Ratcliffe