Authorities say driver was DWI
A Hackensack construction worker died of injuries sustained at his work site when an intoxicated driver backed a pick-up truck over him. Peter Toulson, 61, was pronounced dead at Englewood Hospital and Medical Center of severe head trauma on March 27.
A crime scene investigation at the West Sheffield Avenue "Flat Rock Square" construction site in Englewood revealed that 40-year-old Kearny resident Joseph Lopez, the driver of a sanitation truck, backed up over Toulson, fracturing his skull and killing him.
Police said Lopez, picking up waste from portable toilets, was driving around the site under the influence of marijuana when he hit Toulson. Toulson was unloading a truck when he was struck at about 12:30 p.m., authorities said.
Lopez was charged with vehicular homicide and driving while intoxicated shortly after the incident, according to information from the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office. He was being held at the Bergen County Jail last week in lieu of $35,000.
A construction worker at the scene, speaking only in Spanish, said the site wasn’t dangerous and the man’s death was only an accident.
But as Englewood and county investigators interviewed Lopez, they smelled marijuana, senior assistant Prosecutor John Higgins said.
"The allegation of reckless driving and the odor of marijuana supported the homicide charge," he said.
It was more than an accident, Higgins said, because the man was driving under the influence of a drug, deeming it a criminal matter.
"We’re waiting on the blood test results," Higgins said.
Depending on the degree of the crime, Lopez could face jail time, fines and the suspension of his license for more than 10 years if convicted.
Lopez’s employer, David Zuidema of Zuidema Portable Toilets, would not say how long Lopez was employed by the company and declined to discuss the incident, only to say he was assisting the county with the investigation.
"We’re just cooperating with all parties involved and doing our best to figure everything out," he said.
"Our insurance company has been notified."
The Flat Rock Square residential and commercial complex has been under construction south of Route 4 since 2006.
Hundreds of construction workers gathered in a circle just behind the former Hoop Zone athletic center off the highway in silence Thursday afternoon, watching police piece together what happened.
It is unclear if unionized workers are part of the construction project.
Additional reporting by Darius Amos
