MORRIS COUNTY

Video shows part of six-truck accident on Route 80, Rockaway

Michael Izzo
Morristown Daily Record
Dashcam footage shows a tractor trailer hitting an overturned truck on Route 80 in Rockaway.

ROCKAWAY — Details have emerged from a Tuesday morning Route 80 accident that involved half a dozen trucks and closed the roadway for about seven hours.

At about 3:14 a.m. Tuesday, a tractor trailer was traveling in the left center lane near mile post 35.3 in Rockaway when the driver said he experienced braking failure, eventually causing the vehicle to strike the back of a box truck traveling in the right center lane, New Jersey State Police Lt. Theodore Schafer said.

That box truck then overturned, hitting the concrete barrier in the center of Route 80, Schafer said.

Shortly after that, another tractor trailer hit the overturned truck, ricocheting off it and striking a New Jersey Department of Transportation attenuator truck, which was on the scene for construction, Schafer said.

That tractor trailer also flipped, with the driver pinned inside, Schafer said.

A fourth truck was traveling in the left center lane when it tried to avoid the series of accidents but struck a second DOT attenuator truck, flipping and landing in an embankment to the right of the highway, Schafer said.

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Andres Areiza, 38, of Dover, was driving to work when he witnessed the second part of the crash. A truck driver for a Budd Lake company, he was traveling eastbound on his way to New York when he saw the overturned box truck and stopped to see if anyone was hurt.

“I saw guys in the middle of the road so I pulled over,” Areiza said. “They told me to call 911.”

While speaking with the DOT workers and the driver of the box truck, before he could place the call, another tractor trailer slammed into the side of it and flipped over.

“I couldn’t see the guys I was talking to after,” Areiza said. “I thought they were killed.”

Dashcam footage shows a tractor trailer hitting an overturned truck on Route 80 in Rockaway.

They were not hurt, but the driver of the tractor trailer was in danger.

“He was asking for help in Spanish. His legs were stuck and he couldn’t get out himself,” Areiza said. “But I couldn’t get through the windshield to get him out. So I ran back to my truck to get a fire extinguisher to break it. By then I saw the truck was leaking fuel and the engine was still on.”’

At that point, after what Areiza said was five to 10 minutes, first responders arrived on scene.

“Once the cops arrived I left,” Areiza said. “I realized I was there was nothing more for me to do.”

The report did not say if anyone was in the DOT trucks when they were hit, but Areiza said both were out of their vehicles after the first crash occurred.

There were no passengers in any of the trucks involved in the crash. Nobody was seriously injured, though three had minor injuries, including one who was taken to St. Clare’s Hospital in Denville, Schafer said.

More details were not available Wednesday, pending completion of the accident investigation. Nobody had been charged at that time, Schafer said.

Dashcam footage shows a tractor trailer hitting an overturned truck on Route 80 in Rockaway.

A HAZMAT crew arrived for cleanup of a spill of one of the trailers, which was carrying bags of lightweight rubber, Schafter said.

Rockaway EMS and Fire, Picatinny Arsenal EMS and Fire, and Denville EMS also responded to the scene.

All westbound lanes were closed due to the series of crashes until about 6 a.m. Tuesday. The right three westbound lanes remained closed until 8:14 a.m., when one additional lane opened. 10 to 15 minute delays were reported in the area all morning, backing up traffic for several miles past Denville on Route 80.

In the eastbound direction, traffic backed up from the spot of the accident to Wharton near Exit 34 for Route 15, causing five to 10 minute delays during the morning commute.

Delays persisted until all westbound lanes opened at about 10:30 a.m., though the exit 35 ramp to Mount Hope Avenue remained closed into Tuesday afternoon, as the scene continued to be cleared.

Staff Writer Michael Izzo: 973-428-6636; mizzo@GannettNJ.com