DENNISVILLE – A business owner tracked a white pickup truck that had crashed into materials stored on his property to Lower Township, where, he said, the driver was detained by police hours after he fled the scene.
Bluewater Industries owner Ed Myland said that on Thursday, March 6, at around 6:20 a.m., a white Ford pickup heading south on Route 47 left the roadway to avoid rear-ending a vehicle turning left into the Dennisville Wawa parking lot.
The pickup veered into the Bluewater parking lot at 1089 Route 47 and collided with materials stored on the lot outside the company. Bluewater makes aluminum docks, piers, gangways, truck racks and boat towers.
Security video captured the crash as well as the driver backing up and leaving the scene.
Myland said he called the State Police and emailed them the video footage of the incident. The video was also broadcast on social media.
“Within a half-hour to 45 minutes there was a post that said a vehicle matching the description was at the (Ocean View) rest stop with a flat tire and damage to the font end,” Myland said.
He got in his vehicle and drove to the rest stop, where he was told the truck had just been towed by Courthouse Towing. Myland contacted Courthouse Towing and told them about the hit-and-run, saying he was trying to find out where the vehicle was headed. The truck, it turns out, was being taken to Eddie’s Auto Body on Route 9 in Erma – and was still enroute.
Myland arrived at Eddie’s Auto Body before the tow truck and told the counter person he was looking for a white Ford pickup involved in a hit-and-run on his property.
“Probably a minute later, a guy walks in and said, ‘I’d like to get a quote to get my truck repaired,’” Myland said.
He looked out, and it was the vehicle he had been tracking. He went outside and called the police, but in the meantime the pickup’s owner came out and attempted to drive away.
Myland said he followed the driver north on Route 9, when the pickup pulled over near a campground. He was able to block the truck with his vehicle and got out and told the driver he had called police and he might as well wait.
Between 2 and 3 p.m., Myland told the Herald, the State Police and Lower Township Police were on the scene. Neither agency responded to a request for more information, as the investigation was still in progress.
Contact the reporter, Christopher South, at csouth@cmcherald.com or 609-886-8600, ext. 128.
