3 dead in Bergen County truck accident

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A Bergen County accident left three people dead and two others injured on June 24. The trucking accident occurred just after 12:30 p.m. in Mahwah on northbound Interstate 287. One of the vehicles involved in the accident, a cement truck, was stopped on the shoulder near exit 66 after it became disabled. Three people were standing on the shoulder when a tractor-trailer veered off the roadway and struck them and the rear end of the cement truck. The tractor-trailer then collided with a roadside barrier and a silver Toyota Avalon. The car and the tractor-trailer both caught fire. The deceased pedestrians were the driver of the cement truck and two members of a repair crew. Two people, a married couple, were inside the Toyota Avalon and suffered minor injuries. The driver of the tractor-trailer was able to escape from the rig's cab. Traffic on northbound Interstate 287 was stopped for several miles from exit 58 to exit 66 while police processed the scene and crews cleared the roadway. At the time of reports, officers indicated that it was unclear why the driver of the tractor-trailer lost control of the rig. While investigators were still unsure of the cause of the accident, it is possible that the driver of the tractor-trailer did not get enough sleep before setting out on their shift. Truck drivers are often pressured to work with little or no sleep, affecting their abilities to stay awake and focus while driving. People who are injured in truck accidents and the families of victims who are killed may struggle with medical and burial expenses. A personal injury attorney could assist victims in filing suit against a truck driver or the company that owns the tractor-trailer. Source: CBS New York, "Northbound Lanes Of I-287 Reopened After Deadly, Multi-Vehicle Crash In Mahwah", June 24, 2014