Police Release Details of July 2 Truck Crash in Norristown

The has released the report on the and ended up on the SEPTA tracks, snarling traffic and train service for hours.

According to police, shortly after 1 p.m. on Monday, July 2, a municipal waste tractor trailer, registered to a New Jersey trucking company and being driven by a Philadelphia man, was traveling north on 202 from King of Prussia when he approached the intersection at Main and Markley and tried to stop for a steady red light. The driver reportedly discovered his brakes did not work and passed through the intersection against the light, striking a silver 2004 Volkswagon Passat passing through the intersection travelling West on Main Street. The Volkswagon was being driven by a Norristown woman whose two children were in the car with her at the time of the impact.

After striking the Volkswagon and sending it spinning almost 90 degrees, the driver of the truck veered left to avoid striking the and launched the truck over the sidewalk, the SEPTA tracks and the concrete embankment, damaging the tracks and rupturing its fuel tanks and spilling diesel fuel into the train station's parking lot.

The truck also struck two more vehicles in the parking lot of the train station – a 2002 Chrysler 300 and a 1996 Buick Century owned by Norristown resident Joe Bentz. Bentz's vehicle was pushed into the 1997 Toyota Avalon parked to his left and the Avalon was pushed into a 2010 Subaru Forester parked next to it. All of the cars sustained serious damage. Joe Bentz's Buick was totaled.

Bentz thought he had lucked out getting a parking lot so close to the platform that morning, but later learned his luck had not held out.

"I got a phone call from my son saying, 'The police called and said your car has been hit,'" said Bentz. "I didn't understand what it was. I thought someone was backing in and stopped to call police to tell them they backed into my car or something. I just sort of gradually figured out that this was a serious accident."

Bentz learned from the towing company that his car had been totalled in the accident. To add insult to injury, he was late getting home that evening due to the delays repairing the track after the accident.

"I guess if I had parked someplace else, it would be OK," Bentz joked.

While crews worked to contain the diesel spill from spreading to Stony Creek, a Pennsylvania State Trooper inspected the truck and reportedly found 14 equipment violations and issued citations for each.

The New Jersey company that reportedly owns the truck, T&D Trucking Disposal Logistic, of Turnersville, NJ, could not be contacted for comment. In fact, efforts to locate contact information for the company through New Jersey local, county and state offices have been fruitless – the company's trade name is not registered with any office. Inquiries made to the insurance company listed for the truck have been similarly unsuccessful. An employee of the insurance company could not confirm any information about T&D Trucking, but revealed that the policy number listed in the report was for a policy with a company called Shark Trucking, which the insurance company says it no longer covers.

An internet search of Shark Trucking reveals a business listing on Manta.com with the same address as that of T&D Trucking's address as listed on the vehicle's registration. The address is that of a residential home. Calls to the listed number have not been returned.

Check back with Norristown Patch for more information about the incident as it becomes available.

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