Bergen County, NJ — October 21, 2024, a sanitation worker was killed due to a semi-truck accident at around 7:00 a.m. along County Road.
Authorities said in preliminary statements that the accident happened in the area of the County Road and Prospect Terrace intersection.
According to officials, a sanitation worker was on foot behind a garbage truck. The truck was stopped along the side of County Road picking up trash. While there, a semi-truck approaching northbound somehow crashed into the back of the garbage truck, hitting the sanitation worker. As a result, the worker was killed.
Reports say other injuries were minor. At this time, no charges or citations have been reported. The cause of the accident remains unclear.
Commentary by Attorney Michael Grossman
While this accident apparently happened just before sunrise, I can’t recall ever driving past a garbage truck while it’s dark out that wasn’t lit up like a Christmas tree. It’s entirely possible something was different here, but accidents like this usually end up being the result of the driver who hit the stopped vehicle being distracted, going too fast, or driving while fatigued. Even if that happened here, it’s important investigators get the entire story. Victims and families deserve to know there won’t be anyone wrongfully let off the hook.
What was visibility like at the time? Did the vehicles have working lights and signals? Have authorities pulled the semi-truck driver’s cell phone records? Did they maintain custody of the truck until they could pull the semi’s Engine Control Module data? Is there any dash cam or security cam footage authorities can pull? Did they record all witness statements and keep track of those witnesses so they can follow up later on if needed?
Believe it or not, I come across cases all the time where authorities overlook these questions. That’s something that often surprises people. They understandably trust authorities to investigate the crash. However, relying on their efforts alone risks leaving a complex, chaotic commercial vehicle accident in the hands of someone who may not have the time, tools, or training to get all the answers. If victims and families don’t have a safety net in place to catch whatever authorities might let slip through the cracks, they may find themselves getting an incomplete story at a time when they most deserve closure.
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