Crime & Safety
South Brunswick PD: Truck Driver On Cocaine Crashed Into Home
The driver of a dump truck hadn't slept in more than 32 hours and was high on cocaine when he plowed into a New Road home, police said.
SOUTH BRUNSWICK, NJ — Imagine you are asleep in your home at 4 a.m., when suddenly a truck comes crashing into your living room.
That's exactly what happened to one South Brunswick family on Aug. 14. The incident happened on New Road and the driver of the dump truck was under the influence of cocaine and fentanyl when he crashed into their home, said South Brunswick police.
Dump trucks of that size aren't even allowed on New Road, either.
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Driver Donald Epps, 55, of Morrisville, PA caused this damage, said police, who provided these photos from the scene. He hadn't slept in more than 32 hours when he plowed across the home's front lawn and into their living room.
The home was occupied at the time of the 4 a.m. crash, but the family was asleep in back rooms of the home and they were all uninjured.
Find out what's happening in South Brunswickfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
The speed limit on New Road is 25 mph. It's unknown how fast he was going, but traffic investigators said speed was not a factor in the crash. His impairment was, according to South Brunswick police.
“To be under the influence of drugs while driving an 80,000-pound dump truck is reckless and endangers everyone," said South Brunswick Police Chief Raymond Hayducka. "He destroyed a home where a family was sleeping, and but for an act of God this could have been a tragedy.”
He is charged with fourth-degree endangering the welfare of another for knowingly engaging in conduct which created a substantial risk of serious bodily injury to the occupants of the home he struck. In addition to the criminal charge, Epps is also charged with the following summonses:
• Driving while impaired on a commercial driver’s license
• DWI within 1,000 feet of a school
• Use of a Commercial Motor Vehicle during the Commission of a Crime
• Reckless Driving
• Having Defective Brakes
• Failure to Keep Right
• Improper Driving on Sidewalk
• Driving an Overweight Vehicle on a Restricted Roadway
• Several additional equipment violations
Epps is free pending his first court appearance October 3. South Brunswick Police Traffic Safety Bureau Officer William Beard led this investigation.
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