CLIFTON, NEW JERSEY — A tractor-trailer crashed into a limo business in Clifton early Monday morning, trapping the driver inside the wreckage and prompting the rescue of a second person from the second floor of a nearby residence.
CBS, KYMA
The crash occurred at approximately 2:20 a.m. near the intersection of Ward Avenue and Kensington. Neighbors heard a loud boom around 2:30 a.m. and came outside to find the cab of the truck embedded in the building. Firefighters worked urgently to free the trapped driver from the wreckage. He was hospitalized and was alert and conscious at the time of rescue. A second person was also removed from the second floor of a nearby residence and transported for medical treatment. Both are expected to be okay, fire officials said.
Residents expressed concern in the immediate aftermath that the vehicle could catch fire or explode given the severity of the crash. No fire broke out. The cause of the crash remains under investigation.
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TRACY, CALIFORNIA — A semi-truck driver was arrested for DUI after driving off the road and into a field in Tracy, California, and was found to be six times over the legal blood alcohol content limit for commercial drivers, according to California Highway Patrol’s Tracy Division.
CHP
CHP located the semi-truck after it left the roadway and came to rest in a field. When officers contacted the driver, they found a BAC nearly three times the legal limit for a passenger vehicle of 0.08 — and six times over the stricter commercial driver limit of 0.04. No injuries or damage were reported. The driver was arrested without incident and charged with DUI.
CHP used the arrest to remind commercial drivers of the stakes involved. “A fully loaded big rig isn’t just a vehicle — it’s thousands of pounds with the potential for devastating consequences in the wrong hands,” CHP said. “No load, deadline, or excuse is worth driving impaired. Drive sober. Stay alert. Arrive alive.”
All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
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DELAWARE COUNTY, OHIO — A Columbus semi-truck driver is in custody Saturday night after failing to stop for backed-up traffic in a construction zone on Interstate 71, triggering a nine-vehicle chain reaction that killed a man, a woman, and a 1-year-old child — all from the same family.
The crash occurred at approximately 6:27 p.m. on Saturday in the northbound lanes of I-71 near the U.S. Route 36 interchange in Delaware County. A 2006 Freightliner semi-truck driven by Modou F. Ngom, 50, of Columbus, failed to stop for a line of traffic backed up in a construction zone. The truck slammed into the rear of several stopped vehicles, setting off a chain reaction involving nine vehicles total.
The Victims
The three victims — a 37-year-old man, a 36-year-old woman, and a 1-year-old child — were all residents of Ashley, Ohio, traveling in a 2016 Chevrolet Silverado. Their names have not been released pending notification of next of kin. Three other people sustained serious but non-life-threatening injuries and were transported to area hospitals.
Ngom was taken into custody at the scene and is being held at the Delaware County Jail on charges of vehicular homicide.
Both northbound and southbound lanes of I-71 closed for several hours while rescue crews worked the scene and crash reconstruction experts investigated. The Ohio State Highway Patrol’s Delaware Post is leading the investigation with assistance from the Delaware County Prosecutor’s Office and multiple local law enforcement and emergency agencies.
All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
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SPARTA, TENNESSEE — A 37-year-old man faces attempted first-degree murder charges after allegedly firing multiple shots at a semi-truck cab with his relative inside, putting two rounds through the windshield, in the early morning hours Saturday in Sparta.
Sparta Police Department officers responded to 203 South Young Street at approximately 3:28 a.m. on April 11, 2026, for reports of shots fired. The victim told police he was inside the cab of his semi-truck at about 3:20 a.m. when he heard what sounded like someone striking the driver’s side door from outside. He looked out and saw a family member — later identified as Gilberto Tejero-Gonzales — standing nearby pointing a handgun in his direction. Moments later, multiple gunshots struck the truck. Two rounds penetrated the windshield. The victim stayed inside the truck during the shooting and was not injured.
The Arrest
Tejero-Gonzales fled the scene in a vehicle before officers arrived. Officers found the vehicle parked at the Royal Inn at 803 Valley Drive. They surveilled the vehicle while waiting for additional units. When backup arrived, officers located Tejero-Gonzales in a hotel room and took him into custody without incident. Investigators executed search warrants on both the room and his vehicle.
“Due to the familial relationship between the involved parties, investigators believe that prior communications may exist between the individuals or with third parties that could help establish motive, intent, or premeditation related to the offense,” Sparta Police said.
District Attorney General Bryant C. Dunaway reported that Tejero-Gonzales faces the following charges: attempted first-degree murder, unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon, and possession of a firearm during the commission of a dangerous felony. He was booked into the White County Jail on a $1,077,000 bond. He is scheduled to appear in General Sessions Court on April 14, 2026.
All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
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VOLUSIA COUNTY, FLORIDA — A semi-truck driver died Friday after his tractor-trailer struck metal debris blocking a lane on Interstate 95 just north of mile marker 256, sending the truck into the center median where it collided with several trees.
According to the Florida Highway Patrol, the 2022 Cascadia Freightliner was traveling northbound in the inside lane when the driver encountered metal debris blocking the road. He swerved right but still struck the debris. The truck then swerved back left, left the roadway, and crashed into several trees in the center median. The impact tore apart the left side of the semi-truck. The driver was ejected from the vehicle and pronounced dead at the scene.
The driver’s identity has not yet been released. The crash remains under investigation.
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THORNTON, COLORADO — Adams County Fire Rescue and City of Thornton Fire Department crews extinguished a semi trailer fire on the ramp from northbound I-25 to 84th Avenue Thursday night, after flames spread from the rear wheels to the exterior and interior of the trailer.
Adams County Fire Rescue
Crews responded at 8:50 p.m. The Truck 11 crew arrived to find flames coming from the rear wheel duals and axle on both the driver and passenger sides. The fire had already burned through the metal exterior of the trailer and ignited boxes inside. Firefighters had water on the fire within two minutes while simultaneously pulling containers out of the trailer. Crews then located the main body of fire and extinguished it. The driver was not injured.
Adams County Fire Rescue
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BROCKTON, MASSACHUSETTS — Six tractor-trailers were destroyed Saturday afternoon after a large fire broke out behind a bowling alley on Westgate Drive, spread to three additional trucks, and jumped into a nearby park, igniting two acres of woods before crews brought it under control in about an hour and a half.
Brockton Fire Chief Brian Nardelli said crews responded just before 2 p.m. to the back of 65 Westgate Drive — behind Westgate Lanes — where they found heavy flames coming from three tractor-trailers. A second alarm brought additional mutual aid as the fire spread to three more trucks. Crews used heavy equipment to fight the blaze. The fire eventually extended into DW Fields Park, burning approximately two acres of woods before crews contained it. No damage was reported to surrounding buildings and no injuries were reported.
Brockton Firefighters Local IAFF 144
Westgate Lanes employee Adam Johndrow described the moment the fire made itself known. “You really didn’t know what was going on, and then as I’m locking the door, all of a sudden you heard this loud pop that kind of shook the building, so it was a little stressful for a little while,” Johndrow said.
After the fire was contained, fellow employee Stephen Major said the community response was overwhelming. “You hate to see something like this happen, but it’s nice when people call to make sure everybody’s all right,” Major said.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
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BLANDFORD, MASSACHUSETTS — A tractor-trailer fully engulfed in flames triggered a three-alarm response at the westbound Mass Pike service plaza in Blandford Friday afternoon, spreading to the fuel pumps before crews extinguished the fire within approximately 45 minutes.
Emergency crews were called to the service plaza at approximately 12:30 p.m. after reports of a vehicle fire. When responders arrived, everyone had already evacuated the building and the gas pumps had been shut off. The fire spread from the tractor-trailer to the fuel pumps, escalating the incident to three alarms. The service plaza building was not damaged.
Multiple agencies provided mutual aid. Chester Fire responded with Engine 1, Tanker 1, and Engine 2. Additional departments from Blandford, Huntington, Russell, Becket, Lee, Otis, West Springfield, Monterey, Westfield, and the Hilltown Community Ambulance Association all responded to the scene.
The service plaza remains closed. MassDOT spokesperson John Goggin said message boards have been placed along the highway directing westbound drivers who need fuel to exit at Exit 41 in Westfield.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
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WASHTA, IOWA — Eleven tractor-trailers carrying 350 bales of hay left Washta, Iowa Wednesday morning, headed to ranchers in Nebraska whose feed supplies were destroyed in the largest wildfires in the state’s history.
Campaign organizer Adam Glienke said the fires wiped out not just grazing land but stored feed that ranchers had built up for the year. “A lot of their feed for the year ended up burning up in the fires out there, whether it be the grass that the cows graze or their piles of feed that they had stocked up,” Glienke said.
kbtx
Finding enough trucks to make the seven-hour haul proved to be one of the biggest challenges. “That was the tough part. Finding enough trucks to go out there. Had a lot of hay that was donated. Everybody wanted to donate. Just a long haul to get out there, so finding trucks that can make that run and stuff like that,” Glienke said. He credited donors of gas, trucks, and hay, along with the broader Washta community, for making the delivery possible.
kbtx
One of the three deliveries went to a father and his two sons who run 500 cows. The fire destroyed their feed source for two to three years. Without outside help, the family said they would have had to sell cattle just to survive. The hay donation may allow them to hold on.
Glienke said the recipients were overwhelmed with gratitude. “I think half of the words out of the guys’ mouth in our conversation was thank you. I know the favor would be returned here if something like that were to happen here,” he said.
This is not the first time the Washta community has organized a hay drive. In 2019, they delivered small square bales to northeast Nebraska after flooding. That experience inspired this effort. “That memory popped up, and so I thought, well, we’ll try it again and go a little farther, more or less this time,” Glienke said.
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OKLAHOMA CITY, OKLAHOMA — The Oklahoma Highway Patrol has located the commercial truck believed to be connected to the chain of events that killed OHP Trooper Vernon Brake, motorist Mercedes Bayne, and a 4-year-old child on Interstate 35 Wednesday morning. The truck driver is cooperating with investigators and is considered a valuable witness, OHP said on April 9.
Background
The crash occurred at 11:27 a.m. on April 8 on northbound I-35 between Britton Road and Hefner Road in Oklahoma City. A southbound vehicle is believed to have swerved to avoid debris shed by a commercial vehicle, crossed the center cable barrier, and struck Trooper Brake traveling northbound. All three — Brake, Bayne, and the 4-year-old passenger — were pronounced dead at the scene.
Trooper Brake was a graduate of the 56th OHP Academy in 2006 and had served with the Oklahoma Highway Patrol for nearly 20 years. He is survived by his wife and two children. OHP’s Traffic Homicide Unit is leading the investigation.
Anyone who witnessed the crash on I-35 at approximately 11:27 a.m. on Wednesday is asked to call OHP Communications at 405-425-2323.
KOKH
Statements From Officials
Governor Kevin Stitt said: “I want to take a moment to honor the life and service of Trooper Vernon Brake, who was killed in the line of duty today. For nearly 20 years, Trooper Brake served Oklahoma with integrity and dedication, and we are forever grateful for his sacrifice. Sarah and I are praying for his wife, children, and all those affected by this loss. We are also lifting up in prayer the woman and young child who lost their lives in this incident as well.”
Senator James Lankford said: “Cindy and I are praying for everyone impacted by the tragic crash on I-35. We are heartbroken over the loss of Trooper Vernon Brake and the innocent lives taken, including a child.”
Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond said: “Wendy and I are devastated over the tragic loss of Oklahoma Highway Patrol Trooper Vernon Brake and two other individuals today. May God have mercy and give comfort to the family members and friends these three leave behind.”
OHP Trooper Vernon Brake
Oklahoma City Mayor David Holt said: “Trooper Vernon Brake passed today while on duty in Oklahoma City. We are grateful for his service to the people of Oklahoma City. We send our deepest condolences to his family, as well as the family of those in the other vehicle involved in the accident.”
The Tulsa Police Department said: “Our hearts are heavy today as we mourn the loss of one of our brothers in blue, Oklahoma Highway Patrol Trooper Vernon Brake, who was killed in the line of duty this morning. Trooper Brake was a dedicated public servant who was just months away from celebrating 20 years of service to the state of Oklahoma. We also grieve for the lives of the young woman and the 4-year-old child who were lost in this same devastating incident.”
Additional statements of condolence were issued by the Oklahoma County Sheriff’s Office, the Oklahoma City Police Department, the Edmond Police Department, the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation, the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics, the Broken Arrow Police Department, and the Glenpool Police Department.
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