The aluminum roof of a Snapple delivery truck was ripped off while traveling under a bridge housing the Metro North train track on Saugatuck Avenue Tuesday afternoon in Westport.
The accident happened during rush hour between 4 and 5 p.m. Both MTA police and safety officials were dispatched to the scene. Debris from the accident was strewn along the underpass on Saugatuck Avenue, less than a quarter mile south of the Westport train station. Local traffic was mildly impacted as removal of the vehicle lasted until 7:30 p.m.
Post Parkway auto repairs performed the recovery using two tow trucks and a buzz saw to separate the mangled roof and rear door of the trailer.
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"I was headed home when I got the call" said Post Parkway owner Greg Gosselin. "I see this sort of thing all the time, delivery drivers driving their normal routes in trucks with different dimensions."
MTA officers responding to the accident echoed the same sentiment and said the Tuesday accident was the second one of the day where the driver wasn't driving his or her regular vehicle.
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The driver and his assistant were assigned a different truck that measured 12-feet-6-inches tall, while their normal vehicle of just over 9 feet was being serviced. The overpass, measuring 10-feet-11-inches tall was impassable. In an odd twist of fate, the drivers were headed to their final two deliveries of the day.
Phil Santomassi, the local distributor who owns the route from Stew Leonard's to Fairfield, said that he'd received a call canceling the last delivery. He called to inform the crew of the route changes, but received no answer — around the time the accident happened. Minutes later he received a call from the crew informing him of the accident.
"Had the call (cancellation) come in 10 minutes earlier, this whole event would not have occurred" Santomassi said. "At least no one was injured, I can replace the trailer."
As a steady shower moved through the area, he jokingly said of his two delivery vehicles in need of repair "when it rains, it pours."
He quickly added, "I have a lot to be thankful for — a beautiful wife, two great kids; this is small potatoes."
