Tow Truck Funeral Procession Honors Driver Killed On Route 22

HILLSBOROUGH, NJ — Hundreds of tow trucks and emergency responder vehicles came together Friday morning to participate in a funeral procession along Route 22 through Hillsborough in honor of Seth Newton, 26, who was killed last week while responding to a disabled vehicle.

Tow trucks, fire, EMS and police vehicles lined up at Lebanon Borough Volunteer Fire Company at 88 Main St. in Lebanon at 8 a.m. with the procession leaving around 9 a.m.

The procession drove from Lebanon to Hillsborough where Newton's Funeral was held at St. Joseph Church at 34 Yorktown Rd. in Hillsborough.

It took about 20 minutes for the entire procession to proceed east on Route 22.

"Besides honoring Seth's memory, I would love to see more awareness brought to the dangers of working on the side of the road," said Mike Girgis of Superior Towing, who Newton worked for.

"Most of the time roadside workers are struck and killed it is from driver inattention and failure to obey the 'Slow Down and Move Over Law.' I would like to get the message out that not only does the motoring public have a legal obligation, they also have a moral obligation to do everything they can to ensure that those who help us all make it home to their families each day," said Girgis. "These men and women include: towing operators, law enforcement, fire department, road construction, D.O.T. workers and volunteers that are killed by the dozens each year. Seth is the second tow operator killed from being struck in a little over three weeks in our state alone."

Newton, 26, of Readington Township, was killed after a car hit him while trying to remove a disabled vehicle from the center median cut-through in the area of Route 22 near the Phillips 66 Gas Station near the Somerset County border. Read More: 2 Dead In Route 22 Crash In Readington

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