Major RT78 Accident

[Howard 538]

Heading home from the IDPA match in Easton today I was very lucky, one minute earlier I would have been in this accident, one minute later I might still be sitting there.  Fortunately I was right at an exit when the traffic stopped dead and got back on the next entrance but stopped on the over pass to take a few quick shots.

 

 

 

[mipafox 438]

Jugtown Hill? No, I didn't check the GPS metadata.

 

There's always some crap at that place and it seems to take them a full day to fix the tiniest thing.

[Howard 538]

I think it was around exit 11, but not exactly sure - the emergency vehicles all say Clinton.  No GPS Metadata as I took it with my real camera not a phone.

[mcbethr 42]

You are lucky.

 

You know all of those threads where people ask what happens if you are pulled over on the way to the range?  I've never been afraid of that.  But I am afraid of being in an accident with guns in the car.  What happens if my trunk is damaged and I can't get them out?  

 

Back after 9/11 my Guard unit asked us to pack up a rucksack and our load bearing equipment and helmet and keep it in the car.  This was in the days following the terrorist attacks when America was collectively going crazy.

 

A buddy of mine was in a car accident where he rolled his car.  His rucksack and vest essentially exploded and equipment was strewn across the road, including 30 round magazines that were issued by the state - note that he signed for on a hand receipt.

 

The police were about to arrest him over the 30 round magazines but they backed off when he showed him his ID.

 

It would be an interesting test case to get arrested by the state for the possession of something the state issued you.

[RobertJames 14]

It was probably caused by that rescue truck that's going the wrong direction.

 

 

Hope everyone is okay, cars don't look to have sustained very much damage.

 

 

OP, glad you missed out.

[mipafox 438]

 

I think it was around exit 11, but not exactly sure - the emergency vehicles all say Clinton.  No GPS Metadata as I took it with my real camera not a phone.

 

 

It's Jugtown Hill. Thanks.

[voyager9 3,437]

Looks like lots of minor damage. Nothing that would require the tools. Still, glad you weren't involved or stuck behind it.

 

 

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[JackDaWack 2,895]

Anything in particular you think cause the accident, heavy rain?

[RobertJames 14]

Anything in particular you think cause the accident, heavy rain?

My guess, without even being there:

 

Tailgaters, excessive speed, and inattention, in the form of cellphones, in adverse weather conditions.

[Howard 538]

It was heavy rain just earlier but was clear when it happened, probably just wet roads and people too busy doing other things than watching the road and the cars around them.

[Urban Grunt 44]

Looks like a NASCAR track

[ChrisJM981 924]

So all the cars went off the road and they still shut down all 3 lanes?

[mipafox 438]

 

So all the cars went off the road and they still shut down all 3 lanes?

 

 

There is something incredibly fucked up about that spot. I don't know why the slightest issue requires them to close the road for a day, but they do. I've seen them let one single car through an accident seen every minute or two. Maybe the NJSP barracks out there is filled with morons. It happens, we have morons in the PSP Swiftwater Barracks on this side of the Delaware.

[Howard 538]

Probably they heard gun owners were coming through, you know how they like to slow things down that relate to us.

[djg0770 481]

I think it was a bunch of tweens who saw the name Bieber on the front of the bus and started screaming thinking that d*)(% was on there causing the explosion of a driver's eardrums.

 

Totally Plausible.

[illy 1]

You are lucky.

 

You know all of those threads where people ask what happens if you are pulled over on the way to the range? I've never been afraid of that.

 

 

Happened today. Got pulled over for 80ish in a 65 with guns, ammo and accessories in the trunk. Also had a target frame in my back seat.

Possible ticket turned into talking about the woes of turkey hunting NJ.

[Howard 538]

Happened today. Got pulled over for 80ish in a 65 with guns, ammo and accessories in the trunk. Also had a target frame in my back seat.

Possible ticket turned into talking about the woes of turkey hunting NJ.

Why do something like that and just ask for trouble.  IF you are gong to speed at least keep it only 14 over the limit, fewer points and smaller fine.

[blksheep 466]

Just break the law a little and not a lot. Then get pissed.

[Night Prowler 0]

It was the Cokesbury area. For some reason it always has been a high accident area. Glad everybody was ok.

[RubberBullets 65]

Looks like a large fender bender.. no cars cut. Buncha rma's/walking wounded. A little traffic and some insurance claims beats a few slabs at the morgue. Sadly its usually the single car or car vs car accidents 5hat have the most medical fallout.

 

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[Brownie^HP 6]

I was on RT 78 coming back from the Heritage Guild of Easton at 2:30. A lot of heavy rain and out of state cars, a recipe for an accident!  

[1LtCAP 4,264]

It was heavy rain just earlier but was clear when it happened, probably just wet roads and people too busy doing other things than watching the road and the cars around them.

most people think that once the rain stops, they can go faster. they don't realize that the road is 100 times more slick when the rain stops, or during very light rain, than it is when it's raining hard.......

[Arbelest 29]

As always, great pics! Glad you weren't involved or had to sit in that mess while it was cleaned up.

[Howard 538]

As always, great pics! Glad you weren't involved or had to sit in that mess while it was cleaned up.

Thanks.  Here is a photo tip for everyone.  These shots were taken with a lens that was over 3.5" diameter through very tight chain link fence that had open areas that were only about 1" across.  The trick is to focus far out with a wide open lens (very small F-stop number) this makes the close chain link almost totally disappear.  This works very well if you ever try shooting animals at the zoo too.

[Mach16lt 0]

Saw that accident going in opposite direction... I counted 13 cars and a bus... Also, one of the cars showed evidence of fire damage

 

 

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[njJoniGuy 2,133]

And now, the rest of the story (with apologies to the late, great Paul Harvey):

http://www.nj.gov/njsp/news/pr073013.html

 

 

Bethlehem Township, N.J. – If you’re going to drive around with $114,000 worth of marijuana in a vehicle, you probably don’t want to crash the car and a have a box of the stuff fly out of the window ending up in the grass with troopers and other first responders walking around. But that’s what happened yesterday when State Troopers arrested a New York woman for marijuana possession after responding to a serious crash on Interstate 78 in Hunterdon County.

At 12:56 p.m., Perryville Station troopers responded to milepost 8.2 westbound, and located a 2002 white Mercury Mountaineer in the center grass median. The preliminary accident investigation determined that the driver, Paulette Murray, 48, of Brooklyn, N.Y., failed to control the SUV, ran off the roadway into the center grass median, and struck the guiderail.

Murray suffered serious injuries and was airlifted to St. Luke’s hospital in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. The front seat passenger, Pauline Douglas-Dawkins, 50, of Cambria Heights, N.Y., was treated at the scene for minor injuries.

During the accident investigation, troopers observed Douglas-Dawkins attempting to cover a damaged cardboard box with a blanket. In the cardboard box, troopers discovered a large package of marijuana with fabric softener used to mask the smell of the drugs.

Douglas-Dawkins was arrested and the vehicle was towed to Perryville Station for further investigation. Troopers executed a search warrant on the vehicle and found additional packages of marijuana. In total, 57 pounds of marijuana was seized with an approximate street value of $114,000.

Douglas-Dawkins was charged with Possession of Marijuana, Possession of Marijuana with Intent to Distribute, and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia. She was lodged in the Hunterdon County Jail in default of $100,000 full cash bail.

Murray, who remains hospitalized, will be served with criminal complaints on a later date.

 

 

[Night Prowler 0]

Different accident.

[mipafox 438]

There's been like three more of these since the OP.

[mipafox 438]

This shit happened this morning, and now it's happening again NOW

 

http://511nj.org/