Man Dies After Falling Off Back Of Garbage Truck In Scotch Plains

SCOTCH PLAINS, NJ — Police are investigating after a man fell off the back of a garbage truck and died on Sept. 2.

Scotch Plains Police went to the 300 block of Henry Street where they found a 74-year-old man identified as Ismael Oliva of Plainfield lying in the roadway with a severe head wound, said police.

Residents in the area had already started providing life-saving efforts. An ambulance and paramedics took Oliva to Overlook Hospital in Summit where he was later pronounced dead, said police.

Oliva, who was employed by A&S Sanitation out of Fanwood, was riding on the back platform of a 1997 International garbage truck and fell off the back after the truck hit a speed bump in the roadway, according to a preliminary investigation.

This incident is still under investigation by the Union County Crash Team as well as the Scotch Plains Police Department.

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