HYDE PARK, N.Y. — The driver of an out-of-control tractor trailer was declared dead at the scene after he crashed into a Dutchess County, New York, restaurant June 20.
The incident happened at approximately 10:41 a.m. along the Salt Point Turnpike in Hyde Park.
WABC reports that a tractor-trailer, driven by Craig Allen Dickson, 33, and pulling a fully loaded dump trailer, crashed into a car and then slammed into Junior’s Lounge, decimating the business as it plowed through the building. The truck was owned by MJD Construction of Pawling, New York.
The restaurant’s owner, who was inside the bar at the time, said he heard the initial collision and went outside before thebuilding was struck.
The force of the crash propelled an upstairs tenant, who was sleeping, out of the building; she and the bed both came to rest on top of the tractor-trailer. The woman was pulled from the rubble atop the truck and taken to Mid-Hudson Regional Hospital, where she was treated for minor injuries.
The resident of another upstairs apartment escaped unharmed.
Witnesses told police the tractor-trailer was driving erratically and veered into the westbound lane of traffic several times on the Salt Point Turnpike.
Mid Hudson News reports that police “are investigating a string of earlier accidents that occurred between a tractor-trailer and several other vehicles that took place on Salt Point Turnpike between Innis Avenue and Junior’s Lounge, including one vehicle that was overturned on the northbound shoulder of the road just before the building that was struck.”
Following the crash, the building was deemed to be unsafe by the Hyde Park Building Department and was demolished. The accident also resulted in extensive road closures.
The Trucker News Staff produces engaging content for not only TheTrucker.com, but also The Trucker Newspaper, which has been serving the trucking industry for more than 30 years. With a focus on drivers, the Trucker News Staff aims to provide relevant, objective content pertaining to the trucking segment of the transportation industry. The Trucker News Staff is based in Little Rock, Arkansas.
