Turnpike Authority Settles for $4.3M in Lacey Overpass Collision

The New Jersey Turnpike Authority approved a $4.3 million settlement for damage that was done to a Forked River overpass after a truck struck the structure.

“The incident caused significant damage to the overpass,” a memorandum from the Authority said. “The damage to the bridge, along with the cost of a temporary bridge, resulted in the New Jersey Turnpike Authority incurring expenses totaling $5.6 million.”

The settlement that was approved on Tuesday will cover expenses that were incurred as a result of the accident, which occurred on June 4, 2008.

On that day, an improperly loaded car crusher trailered by Porchtown Recyclers, Inc. was traveling southbound on the Garden State Parkway when it crashed into the Lacey Road overpass, said Authority spokesman Tom Feeney.

The load the truck was hauling was above the height limit for the Parkway. The vehicle, which was a machine used for crushing cars, was carrying two cars at the time of the accident, he said.

“The Turnpike Authority had to build a temporary bridge to carry local traffic on Lacey Road for the four months it took to repair the extensive damage to the bridge caused by the collision,” Feeney said.

According to a Press of Atlantic City article, the damage as a result of the crash was one of the most expensive in the Authority’s history. The impact of the crash destroyed the bridge’s support beams. Traffic had backed up for more than 30 miles and continued in the days following the accident.

To recoup costs, the Authority filed a lawsuit in Ocean County courts, Feeney said. There were three defendants named in the suit: the company that owned the car crusher (Cholish Salvage Inc. of Long Valley, NJ), the company that was transporting the car crusher (Porchtown Recyclers Inc. of Newfield, NJ) and the company that was leasing the car crusher (Cosmo’s Green Acres Auto & Recycling Center of Bayville).

Harleysville Insurance Company, the insurance company for Porchtown who also insures Green Acres, the recycling facility where the car crusher was stored, agreed to contribute $3.4 million towards the settlement. Star Insurance Company, the insurance company for Cholish, the owner of the car crusher, agreed to contribute $925,00 towards the settlement, for a total of $4.3 million. 

The Authority is entitled to 64.4 percent of the recovery amount, minus expenses and fees, which is currently estimated to be approximately $600,000, the memorandum states. The Authority previously received $2,000,000 partial reimbursement for the damages to the bridge from insurance companies.

The driver of the truck, Tony Copeland of Bridgeton was not injured in the accident, the Press of Atlantic City reported. Copeland pleaded guilty in October 2008 to three traffic violations in Lacey Township Municipal Court, losing his commercial driver’s license for 90 days and receiving $499 in fines.