Drunk and licenseless tractor-trailer driver Aleksandar Isserovich, 38, of Brooklyn, New York, kills Jersey Shore resident, Jason Appio, 45, in rear-end collision

Alleged drunk truck driver facing additional charges in fatal crash
Updated on September 7, 2017
By Craig McCarthy



PERTH AMBOY-- A truck driver, who authorities say was drunk at the wheel during a fatal car crash, is facing additional charges Thursday, including driving without a license.

Aleksander Isserovich, 38, of Brooklyn, New York, has been charged with death by auto and causing death by auto while operating a motor vehicle with a suspended New Jersey driver's license, Middlesex County Prosecutor Andrew Carey said in a release.

Isserovich is accused of driving drunk on the southbound side of Route 440 Wednesday afternoon and rear-ending a Hyduna Sonata, killing it's driver, according to the release.






Drunk truck driver kills Jersey Shore man in crash: Cops

Jason Appio, 45, of Ocean Township, was pronounced dead at Raritan Bay Medical Center in Perth Amboy

The SUV smashed into the car in front of it and the truck jackknifed, hitting two other cars, authorities said.

Jason Appio, 45, who was driving the SUV, was pronounced dead at Raritan Bay Medical Center in Perth Amboy at 4:40 p.m., according to the prosecutor's office.


Isserovich was initially charged with driving under the influence. The truck driver and three others were taken to the hospital for minor injuries.

The prosecutor's office said someone had called 911 before the crash to report the driver's erratic driving. 

Aleksandar Isserovich's facebook pages say that he works for Le Pain Quotidien, a bakery.


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Drunk tractor-trailer driver kills Jersey Shore man in crash, cops say
Updated on September 7, 2017 at 4:00 PMPosted on September 7, 2017 at

By Craig McCarthy



NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

PERTH AMBOY, NJ -- An Ocean Township man died Wednesday after his car was rear ended by a tractor-trailer with an alleged drunk driver at the wheel, authorities said.

The accident occurred at 3:36 p.m. on the southbound side of Route 440 near milepost 2.7 when the truck crashed into a Hyduna Sonata and jackknifed, hitting two other cars, Middlesex County Prosecutor Andrew Carey said in a release.

Jason Appio, 45, who was driving the SUV that was pushed into another car, was pronounced dead at Raritan Bay Medical Center in Perth Amboy at 4:40 p.m., according to the release.

The truck driver, Aleksander Isserovich, 38, of Brooklyn, New York, was charged with driving under the influence, Carey said.

Isserovich was taken to the Perth Amboy hospital for his injuries, according to the release. The other drivers were also treated for minor injuries at the hospital.

The prosecutor's office said someone had called 911 before the crash to report the driver's erratic driving. Authorities are still investigating the incident. Anyone with information can call (908) 725-0107 or (732) 745-8842.

Cal/OSHA fined Graniterock, Hildebrand & Sons and Caltrans after a dump truck backed over and killed 54-year-old Robert Gill and seriously injured 33-year-old Stephen Whitmore near Scotts Valley

State workplace regulators have issued close to $50,000 in fines against one of California’s oldest and largest construction companies, a subcontractor and Caltrans in connection with the death of a worker on Highway 17 in Santa Cruz County after one of last winter’s strong rainstorms.

A dump truck backed over and killed 54-year-old Robert Gill and seriously injured 33-year-old Stephen Whitmore near Scotts Valley on Feb. 9. Both men were employed by Watsonville-based Graniterock, a 117-year-old construction materials and services company, which holds offices and does work in the San Francisco and Monterey Bay areas.

Caltrans hired Graniterock to remove the mud from a closed section of the highway. It was one of several areas throughout the region hit with flooding after a storm brought several inches of rain.

In August, California’s Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA) fined Graniterock more than $32,000 for several violations.

The company failed to ensure that hauling and earth-moving operations were controlled in such a manner that the driver of the dump truck, run by subcontractor Hildebrand & Sons Trucking Inc., knew that Gill and Whitmore were in the area, according to Cal/OSHA.

Graniterock also received citations for not doing enough inspections of the job site and for training and safety failures.

Hildebrand & Sons was fined close to $24,000 for several similar violations. Cal/OSHA fined Caltrans $750 for failing to conduct safety inspections on the job site.

Caltrans and the two companies are appealing the penalties. Among other objections, they say the Cal/OSHA worker who inspected the work site “failed to comply with laws governing administrative searches.”

Shortly after the accident, a Graniterock official said the company’s nearly 1,000 workers were devastated to learn of Gill’s death.

Representatives for Graniterock and Hildebrand declined to comment.

“Caltrans mourns the loss of any person who works on state highways in the interest of public safety,” said Caltrans spokesman Jim Shivers in an emailed statement. “We continue to hold regular training with staff and contractors to ensure that safe practices are followed in all highway work zones.”

Caltrans publishes statistics on agency employees who are killed on the job, but its yearly lists do not include workers for the agency’s contractors.

An online fundraiser, set up by Graniterock for Gill’s wife and two children, raised close to $84,000.



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Fellow Workers Devastated by Accident That Killed Contractor After Santa Cruz County Mudslide

Tractors work at clearing a slide on Highway 17 on Feb 9, 2017. (Courtesy of Phil Gomez/KSBW)
By Ted Goldberg February 10, 2017
 
The California Highway Patrol is looking into the inspection history of the dump truck that backed over and killed a construction employee and pinned his co-worker on Highway 17 near Scotts Valley in Santa Cruz County on Thursday, a tragedy that has devastated their employer, one of California’s oldest and largest construction companies.

The CHP investigation into the death of 54-year-old Robert Gill and the serious injury to 33-year-old Stephen Whitmire is also focusing on whether the truck had working backup warning alarms at the time, according to CHP officer Trista Drake.

Drake said Friday that the CHP inspected the truck in the hours after the incident and has interviewed witnesses, including the unidentified truck driver, but did not plan on releasing its investigative results any time soon.

Gill and Whitmire were doing contract work for Caltrans, helping to remove a mudslide from the highway around noon on Thursday so the agency could reopen the road to drivers.

Investigators believe the truck was backing up toward a hill when the workers were hit, Drake said. Gill was pronounced dead at the scene.

Whitmire was found pinned underneath the rear of the truck when CHP crews arrived, Drake said. Rescuers extricated him and took him by ambulance to a local hospital, conscious and talking at the time, she said. He is believed to be in stable condition.

Both men were employed by Watsonville-based Graniterock, a 117-year-old family-owned construction materials and services company, which holds offices and does work in the San Francisco and Monterey Bay areas.

The firm has deep history with California. In fact, it has been around longer than the state agency that regulates similar construction firms. Graniterock got its license from the Contractors State License Board in 1929, one of the first companies to do so, according to agency spokesman Rick Lopes.

The nearly 1,000 workers there are reeling, according to Shanna Crigger, spokeswoman for Graniterock.

“We are all mourning. We are all in a state of shock,” Crigger said. “We are struggling to come to terms with losing someone who was just an incredible person and incredible team member.”

Gill, who worked at the company for 15 years, was “someone who everybody loved and knew … he was funny, outgoing, hardworking, always on our high-profile jobs,” she said.

The Santa Cruz County Coroner’s Office plans to conduct an autopsy on Gill’s body next week, according to Sgt. Chris Clark of the sheriff’s office.

Along with the CHP, California’s Division of Occupational Safety and Health — Cal/OSHA — has opened an investigation into the incident, agency spokesman Erika Monterroza said.

Graniterock has set up an online fundraiser for Gill’s wife and two children.

Derrick Guilder, 22, set the fire that killed his girlfriend 19-year-old Ashley E. Coltrain in Hudson Falls, NY

Derrick Guilder, 22, planned to kill himself after setting the fire that killed Ashley E. Coltrain, 19.  But he changed his mind.  Hopefully he will rot in jail.

Derrick Guilder, 22, planned to kill himself after setting the fire that killed Ashley E. Coltrain, 19.  But he changed his mind.  Hopefully he will rot in jail.

HUDSON FALLS — The man who was pulled from the roof of a burning home Wednesday was charged with murder for setting the blaze, which killed his girlfriend, police said Thursday.

Derrick Guilder, 22, planned to kill himself after setting the fire that killed Ashley E. Coltrain, 19, police said. Guilder had second thoughts and escaped from a window onto the roof as flames consumed the house.


Police said Guilder and Coltrain had had an argument about ending their relationship.


Coltrain called 911 for help but could not get out of the 11 North St. home. She was found dead on the second floor after firefighters were able to search inside, Hudson Falls Fire Chief Michael Fitzgerald said.

Guilder was treated and released from the hospital. He is awaiting arraignment. He was charged with second-degree murder and arson for igniting the fire with papers on a sofa, police said.

A Hudson Falls police officer saved Guilder from the roof as flames and smoke spread through the building.

Coltrain's mother died of a heart attack in the home on Aug. 27, Hudson Falls Police Chief Randy Diamond said.



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HUDSON FALLS, NY — A woman died in a fire early Wednesday at a home on North Street, and police aided by a neighbor were able to rescue her boyfriend from the home's roof.


The victim was identified as 19-year-old Ashley E. Coltrain. She was found in second-floor bedroom in the burning house shortly after the 4:50 a.m. blaze was knocked down.


Hudson Falls Police officers rescued a man from the roof of a front porch at the 11 North St. home, but were unable to get into the building to get to Coltrain, Hudson Falls Police Chief Randy Diamond said. She was believed to have called 911 to report the fire.


"The home was fully engulfed," Diamond said. "It was a really, really hot fire."


He said it was not clear why the woman did not evacuate the home, as county dispatchers advised her to do when she placed the 911 call.


"We are not sure what kept her inside," Hudson Falls Fire Chief Mike Fitzgerald said.


The man who escaped was her boyfriend, identified as Derrick Guilder, and he remained in Glens Falls Hospital for treatment of smoke inhalation as of late Wednesday afternoon.


There were pets in the home, including ferrets and at least one cat, and she may have been trying to get them out. Police were interviewing Guilder on Wednesday, but he was on oxygen and his condition was hindering that, police said.




Diamond said a neighbor brought a ladder over to help officers Sean Smith and Ed Ackley rescue the man.


"Thankfully, they were able to get him or there would have been a second fatality," he said.


Neighbors identified the good Samaritan as Duane Charland, saying he heard the fire call on a police scanner, and grabbed a ladder when he saw police cars in front of the burning house and ran it down the street.


The Washington County Sheriff's Office released later Wednesday video from Deputy Brad Hamilton's body camera that showed officers and firefighters battling heavy smoke and flame to try to get in different windows and doors of the burning home. Some coughed heavily as smoke billowed.


"It's too hot for them to get in there," an officer said at one point.


Four firefighters suffered minor injuries, ranging from heat exhaustion to a cut finger, smoke inhalation and a minor back injury.


Fitzgerald said there were initial concerns that others may have been unaccounted for in the building, but just the one woman was found.


"We did a complete sweep and everyone was accounted for," he said.


The makeup of the home, with a wall that separated one side from the other, and an abundance of items stored in hallways and stairways hindered firefighter access, but Fitzgerald said it likely didn't affect those issues didn't affect the outcome.


The cause of the fire had not been determined, but Diamond said there was no initial indication it was suspicious. Washington County and state Office of Fire Prevention and Control fire investigators are investigating, with State Police assisting Hudson Falls Police with interviews of witnesses.


Fire damage was heaviest in the first floor of the southeast corner of the two-story home, where a living room was located but Diamond said it may take days or longer to determine the cause.


Fire investigators were using shovels to scoop up debris to review it closely.


"They are going over every square inch of that house," Diamond said.


Guilder was taken to Glens Falls Hospital for treatment of injuries that were considered non life-threatening.


Coltrain's 40-year-old mother had just died a week or so earlier of a heart attack in the home, police said.


Neighbors said the family was quiet, and several were tearful at the double tragedy they had endured.


"They lived there about a year. I never talked to them. They were quiet," said Joe LaPointe, who lives across the street.


Coltrain was a 2016 graduate of Hudson Falls High School who worked at The Great Escape & Splashwater Kingdom as a cashier.


Loved ones of the victim gathered near the home throughout the day, a fire department chaplain consoling them at one point. They declined to comment to gathered reporters as they waited amid a steady rain.


One neighboring home sits no more than 20 feet from 11 North, and firefighters kept the blaze from jumping to it.


Firefighters from Hudson Falls were assisted by Fort Edward, Kingsbury, South Queensbury and Queensbury Central at the scene. Fort Edward Police, State Police and the Washington County Sheriff's Office assisted at the scene as well.

Seven first responders who were called to the Arkema plant filed a $1 million lawsuit against Arkema, claiming they got sick after being exposed to fumes near the plant

CROSBY, Texas (KTRK) -- Seven first responders who were called to the Arkema plant filed a lawsuit against Arkema, claiming they got sick after being exposed to fumes near the plant.

No one from the plant told first responders about the chemicals or their risks, the lawsuit alleges.

Arkema gave notice of a lifted evacuation order early Monday morning after consulting with officials monitoring the scene. For now, though, residents are also advised to use protective clothing and drink bottled water until further notice.

Law enforcement and medical personnel were vomiting in the street and unable to breathe after arriving at the plant, according to the claims.

At least 18 people were taken to hospitals after the initial fire and explosion at the plant Aug. 31.

Arkema officials did not directly notify local emergency managers of the generator failure, officials said. It came, instead, by way of the plant's workers, who told the Crosby Volunteer Fire Department about it when they were rescued during the storm, she said.

The lawsuit claims the company failed to properly store chemicals, provide proper backup plans and failed to alert first responders to the dangers of the fumes.

The plant sits in a floodplain and had flooded before in 2006, leading to a similar incident, state records show.

Arkema representatives contend the site was prepared with a backup generator, but that failed as several feet of water rose over the plant. Questions about how high generators had been installed went unanswered.

In the company's risk management filing with the federal government, it presented a "worst-case scenario" disaster at the plant, but planned for that "worst-case" with the caveat that meteorological conditions would be "most favorable."

In that report, flooding and hurricanes are identified as potential risks, but there are no details about how the plant prepares for such an event.

Company representatives say they didn't expect "feet" of water over the plant. A safety official admits that the measures they had in place didn't go far enough.

Construction worker Barry P. Jones, 59, of Upper Darby, Pa. crushed to death by a bulldozer in Northeast Philadelphia

NORTHEAST PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) --

A bulldozer struck and killed a man at a construction site in Northeast Philadelphia, police say.

It happened at 6:15 a.m. Thursday in the 5100 block of Pennypack Street.

Fire department crews responded to a report of a construction worker struck by a bulldozer being operated by another employee.

The victim has been identified as Barry Jones of Upper Darby, Pa.

The construction site is located between I-95 and the Delaware River.


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PHILADELPHIA, PA (CBS) –– Authorities are investigating a fatal construction accident in Northeast Philadelphia.

It happened at a construction site in the 5100 block of Pennypack Street in Upper Holmesburg on Thursday morning.

That’s where police say a 59-year-old construction worker was run over by a bulldozer.

The worker has been identified as Barry Jones of Upper Darby.



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Man run over by bulldozer, killed in NE Philly 

September 7, 2017


 
by Joseph A. Gambardello, Staff Writer

An Upper Darby man was killed Thursday morning when he was run over by a bulldozer at a construction site in Northeast Philadelphia, police said.


Police identified the victim as Barry P. Jones, 59, of the 2200 block of South Harwood Street. He was pronounced dead by medics at 6:28 a.m. The accident occurred around 6:15 a.m. at the site on the 5100 block of Pennypack Street, near the Philadelphia Fire Academy in the Upper Holmesburg section.

Authorities said the bulldozer was being operated by another employee when his coworker was struck.

There were no additional details immediately available about the circumstances surrounding the accident.