POINT PLEASANT BEACH — A dump truck struck a telephone pole before plowing into a house on the corner of Route 35 North and McLean Avenue at 3:05 p.m. on Wednesday, April 5, according to the Point Pleasant Beach Police Department.
The driver of the truck, Ronald Bennett, 55, of Point Pleasant, was treated at the scene by The Point Pleasant First Aid & Rescue Squad and transported to the hospital, police said.
There were no other reported injuries and the residence was unoccupied at the time of the accident, according to a post from the police department.
“The dump truck did major structural damage to the house,” said Point Pleasant Beach Fire Department Chief Ira Waldman. “Our fire department checked to make sure there was no one in the car or the house and we secured the utilities. We had teams from South Wall and from Brick. The structural collapse teams who came in to secure the building so Taylor’s Team Towing could come and remove the vehicle.”
JCP&L responded and there was a brief power loss to the north end area surrounding Rt. 35 that affected several residences and businesses, the post stated. Power was restored yesterday by JCP&L. State DOT responded and assisted with diverting traffic from the area on Route 35 North near the accident scene.
“JCP&L did a good job in assisting us and securing the power,” said Chief Waldman. “They were there in a timely fashion. They did a good job in assisting with lifting the wires to allow the tow company to get in.
Route 35 North was opened back up that night, but due to ongoing work by utility companies, had only one lane of travel in the area where the accident occurred, according to the post.
Ocean Fire Company, Point Pleasant Beach Fire Company 2 and Point Pleasant First Aid & Emergency Squad responded to the motor vehicle accident and crews assisted with checking for any possible trapped in the home. When crews deemed no victims were inside, the scene was secured, responders stood by while South Wall Fire Rescue and Laurelton Fire Company 1 responded to the scene with their technical rescue teams. Both departments worked on shoring the building for proper removal of the vehicle from the house. Crews were released once the vehicle was removed and utilities from the building were secured.
Agencies involved in assisting were Point Pleasant Beach Police Department , South Wall Fire Rescue, Laurelton Fire Company 1, NJ Department of Transportation, JCP&L, New Jersey Natural Gas, Point Pleasant Beach Public Works and Ladies Auxiliary of Ocean Fire Company and Point Pleasant Beach Fire Company 2.
The incident is being investigated by Officer Bryan Benites and is ongoing.
Mackenzie Fitchett can be reached at pointbeach@theoceanstar.com or 732-223-0076 Ext 110.
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