Tragedy struck on a New Jersey highway last night when a dump truck veered off the road and plummeted into the Cohansey River. Matthew Jacobs Jr., the 60-year-old driver, did not survive the accident. The circumstances surrounding the crash, as detailed by New Jersey State Police (NJSP) Detective Jeffrey Lebron, revealed that around 11:30 p.m. Thursday, the vehicle pierced through a guardrail along County Route 553 in Fairfield Township, Cumberland County.
Emergency services arrived at the harrowing scene to find the truck partially submerged with a passenger perched atop it. The passenger, though injured, had managed to escape the sinking vehicle. “Preliminary investigation revealed that a Kenworth T880 (truck) was traveling southbound and went off the roadway to the right, crossed the guideway, and entered the Cohansey River,” said the official report. However, the cause of this mishap remains undetermined.
The injured passenger, whose identity has not been released, was quickly transported to the hospital in moderate condition, according to NBC News. By morning, rescue crews had successfully extracted the truck from the river’s depths.
Tragically, this incident is not an isolated one. Just over the weekend, a 24-year-old Hispanic driver lost his life when his BMW luxury car veered off-course in Queens, New York, and sank into the East River. Similarly, in Port Chester, Westchester County, New York, a Latino driver met a grim fate in the Byram River’s waters last week. In a fortunate twist, his passenger managed a narrow escape.
Such accidents involving vehicles ending up in water bodies have been alarmingly frequent in the region. In February, a driver lost his life in Long Island after his newly acquired BMW luxury SUV found itself underwater. Even more unsettling, in late 2022, a woman was discovered deceased in her car, submerged in an Orange County retention pond. Another haunting instance from December 2021 recounts a woman intentionally steering her vehicle into New York’s Niagara River bordering Canada.
In light of these tragedies, New York authorities have issued stern warnings to motorists. They emphasize a policy of zero tolerance towards those who speed or operate vehicles under the influence of alcohol or drugs, urging drivers to prioritize safety at all times.