Route 206 Crash Caused By ‘Driver Inattention’: Chester Police

CHESTER, NJ — A distracted driver hit a Route 206 utility pole on Saturday morning, which closed the road for about nine hours, according to the Chester Police Department.

The roadway was closed in both directions until 4:45 p.m.

“Investigating officers on scene reported no injuries, signed no complaints and cited driver inattention as the reason for the crash,” police spokesperson Lt. Ronald Totams told Patch in an email.

Noah Diaz of Newton swerved on Saturday at 7:50 a.m. to avoid hitting a car that had stopped to turn left onto Cooper Lane, Totams said.

Diaz instead struck a pole, which fell across both lanes of the roadway, rendering it “impassable,” Totams added.

Utility crews from CenturyLink and the New Jersey Department of Transportation were called to the scene to repair the pole and take care of the fallen wires, Totams said.

Traffic was detoured one of two ways. The first was on Old Chester Gladstone Road. The second was Colby Farm Road to Route 24/County Road 510 to Fox Chase Road.

The original social media post is below, showing the photo at the scene.

Questions or comments about this story? Have a news tip? Contact me at: jennifer.miller@patch.com.