Dump Truck Driver Charged in Fatal Bicyclist Hit and Run
Posted on October 16th, 2017 by Oddo & Babat, P.C.
A dump truck driver has been arrested in connection with fleeing the scene of a deadly accident in New Jersey that took a bicyclist’s life, according to USA Today.
During the early morning hours of September 25, 53-year-old Timothy Miller of Pennsylvania was driving a dump truck in the state’s borough of Riverdale in Morris County when he collided with a bicyclist on the Hamburg Turnpike and then fled the scene.
When law enforcement responded to reports of an accident involving a truck and a bicyclist on the turnpike, they found that the bicyclist had sustained several injuries. The 50-year-old male victim, who has not yet had his identity released, was rushed to a local hospital, where he died from his injuries.
The victim, who is only referred to by the initials “M.A.” in the official court documents, was said to be riding his bike in the westbound section of the Hamburg Turnpike when the accident occurred. He was not breathing when emergency responders arrived, and he was found on the opposite guardrail side while parts of his bike and several personal items were in the road.
Just a day after the collision, Kevin Smith, Riverdale Police Department Chief, and Fredric M. Knapp, the prosecutor for Morris County, announced that Miller had been arrested on charges stemming from the incident. Witnesses identified the blue-and-white dump truck, which was subsequently found by police at the Riverdale Quarry. According to those witnesses, the dump truck driver hit the victim, dragging his bike underneath the truck, and then took off. Miller’s dump truck fit the witnesses’ descriptions, and when police located it at the quarry, it had parts of the bicycle stuck to it and recent damage on the passenger side.
Miller reportedly denied any involvement in the crash during the initial questioning. He has been charged with leaving the scene of an accident that resulted in someone’s death, a second-degree crime, and hindering his own apprehension, a third-degree crime.
New Jersey has had its share of hit-and-run accidents lately, an unfortunate trend that can be seen in states across the nation. 4 New York News reports that just two days after the accident in Riverdale, an SUV ran into a bus stop in front of Hackensack Meridian Health Palisades Medical Center in North Bergen, destroying the stop and killing Luisa Valdez, an employee of a nursing home in the center complex. The grandmother had worked as a nursing assistant at the center for 25 years and was on her way home from work when the SUV struck the stop where she was waiting. Police are still looking for the SUV driver, who fled the scene and may have been speeding, a known problem in the area, according to bystanders.
A hit-and-run accident can change lives of the victims and their families in just an instant, and you may need a car accident lawyer Denver CO relies on for help. If you or someone you care about has been injured in an auto accident, contact an experienced auto injury attorney about your case.
Thanks to our friends and contributors at the Law Office of Richard Banta for their insight into bicycle accidents.
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