Driver Hurt As Dump Truck Bed Catches Wires, Overturns In Manchester: Police

MANCHESTER, NJ — A South Amboy man was injured Friday night when the commercial dump truck he was driving overturned after its bed caught on overhead wires, snapping a utility pole, Manchester police said Saturday.

Derrick Wiley, 52, of South Amboy, was taken to Community Medical Center, Toms River, for treatment of nonlife-threatening injuries after the crash, which happened about 10:30 p.m. on Route 571 near the intersection of Ridgeway Boulevard, Manchester Capt. Todd Malland said.

Wiley was eastbound on Route 571 in a 2014 Mack dump truck when the hydraulic arm on the truck's dump bed activated, raising the bed in the air, Malland said. As a result, the elevated bed caught telephone wires strung across the road between two utility poles, he said. In doing so, it pulled the wires, snapping a utility pole and pulling the wires down across the road., he said.

That caused Wiley to lose control of the truck, which led to it rolling over in the roadway. Wiley was able to exit the dump truck with the assistance of several bystanders, Malland said.

No other vehicles were involved in the crash.

The crash is still under investigation as investigators are attempting to determine whether or not the hydraulic arm activation was a mechanical malfunction or a negligent action taken by the driver.

Assisting on scene were members of the Ridgeway Volunteer Fire Department, EMTs from Quality Medical Transport, as well as representatives from the Ocean County Health Department and JCP&L. The roadway was closed for several hours in both directions while officers conducted the investigation and the roadway was cleaned up.

The crash is currently under investigation by Patrolman Anderson of the department’s Traffic Safety Unit with the assistance of the New Jersey State Police Commercial Carrier/Safety Inspection Unit, Malland said.

Photo by Manchester Police