Video Shows Dump Truck Crash That Closed Route 70 Intersection

A 2007 International 7600 dump truck towing a flatbed trailer with a Caterpillar 314 excavator was traveling westbound on Route 70 when the crash occurred around 5 p.m. on the Toms River border, Brick police said.

The arm of the bulldozer was in an upward position while on the trailer. The extended arm knocked down wires, which fell  which across Route 70 and landed on a 2017 Honda Pilot near Brick Boulevard around 5 p.m., local police said. 

Neither driver was hurt. 

The truck continued westbound on Route 70 and the excavator arm collided with the mast arm for the traffic signal at the intersection of Route 70 and Brick Boulevard, police said. 

Power was disrupted to the area and traffic was diverted while crews from NJDOT, JCP&L and Verizon made repairs to the damaged equipment.

The dump truck ultimately collided with another vehicle on Route 70 at Whitesville Road at 5:30 p.m. where the trailer and bulldozer overturned, Toms River police said.

The truck driver made a right turn onto Whitesville Road. Once he made the turn, his trailer flipped over and the excavator landed on a vehicle that was stopped on Whitesville Road for a red signal, police said.. Neither driver was hurt. 

Christopher W. Caches, 56, of Toms River, was driving the dump truck, police said. 

Caches was issued summonses for careless driving in Brick and Toms River, police said.

He also was cited in Brick for failure to report a motor vehicle accident, leaving the scene of an MVA, and improper loading of a vehicle, according to Sgt. James Kelly, a police department spokesman.

Route 70 westbound from Route 88 to Pier Avenue remained closed during Thursday's rush hour. It had reopened by 10 a.m., according to Sgt. Kelly. 

The Toms River crash remains under investigation by the Toms River Traffic Safety Officer Ryan Fitzgerald.

Anyone who may have witnessed the crashes or has information about them is urged to call Brick Ptl. David Thergesen of the Brick Police Department Traffic Safety Unit at 732 451-2037.

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