Firefighter 1 Of 2 Killed In Accident On Route 29: Police

One of the two people killed in the accident involving a Mack dump truck and a Ford Crown Victoria has been identified as a firefighter from Lambertville. The crash happened shortly before 1 p.m. Monday afternoon near the flea market and Valley Road on Route 29 in Hopewell Township. After the vehicles collided, they both hit a utility pole and caught fire, according to Hopewell Township police.

"Rescue 17 responded to this call unknowing that it involved one of our own until hours later," Lambertville Fire Department said in a post via Facebook announcing the death of 58-year-old Mark Leary Sr. (See full post below).

The driver and the passenger in the car were both killed in the accident. Their identities weren’t released Monday evening, pending positive identification and notification of next of kin. The truck driver, 59-year-old James Bilton of Edgewater Park, didn’t suffer any serious injury, police said.

Police were called to the scene at about 12:54 p.m. The first officer on scene used a Stat-X fire suppression device and multiple fire extinguishers in an attempt to extinguish the fire. The Union Fire Company, Lambertville Fire Department and Hopewell Valley Emergency Services personnel responded to the scene and extinguished the fire.

Bilton was driving north on Route 29 and the Crown Victoria was traveling south, police said. The vehicles collided in the southbound lane, causing both to come to rest against a stone wall along the southbound shoulder of the roadway. The roadway is one lane in each direction. No other vehicles were involved.

The crash is being investigated by Officer Christopher Vaccarino, Detective Louis Vastola, and the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office Serious Collision Response Team.

Anyone who may have witnessed this crash is asked to contact Detective Louis Vastola at 609-737-3100 ext. 5320.

The following images from the scene were shared by FOX29:

With reporting from Kara Seymour, Patch Staff