3 Injured After Ladder Falls Off Truck, Causes Crashes In Wayne: PD

WAYNE, NJ — A chain-reaction crash that sent three people to the hospital started when a ladder fell off a truck on the U.S. 23 South exit to Mountain View on Thursday morning, said Wayne Police.

None of the drivers involved had serious injuries, said officials. One lane of Route 23 southbound was closed for several hours, as was the Route 23 South service road. The road has reopened, police said.

Police said the truck driver and the motorist who hit the fallen ladder were trying to remove it from under the second vehicle, when a third driver ran into one of them.

The ladder had become wedged under the second car, said Wayne PD Detective Captain Dan Daly. The two drivers got out to try and remove the ladder from under the second vehicle, Daly said.

Then, the third vehicle approached and hit the second vehicle's driver while he was outside his car, Daly said. The crash propelled the second vehicle forward and it struck the truck's driver as well, Daly added.

The driver of the second vehicle "sustained significant injuries to his head and leg," Daly said. He was last reported in stable condition, officials said. The truck driver and the third vehicle's driver had minor injuries, and first responders took all three to the hospital in an ambulance.

Transportation officials first posted the closure on 511nj.org at 7:32 a.m. and listed it on Route 202 north of C.R. 670/Alps Road.