A Mount Olive man was driving a salt truck that was involved in a fatal accident on Route 78 during Sunday’s ice storm.
A Toyota Avalon hit the truck from behind as the driver was traveling in the eastbound lanes of the interstate in the Lebanon section of Clinton Township Sunday morning, police said.
A passenger in the front seat of the Toyota died as a result of the crash.
Sgt. Gregory Williams said that the car, driven by James Kim of Douglaston, New York, failed to slow down when he encountered the salt truck in the center lane at 7:20 a.m.. The Toyota hit the truck, sending it counter-clockwise into the center lane facing north.
The front-seat passenger, who has not been identified, was ejected from the car and died at Hunterdon Medical Center in Raritan Township at 8:16 a.m., Williams said.
The driver of the salt truck, Anthony Festa, who lives in the Flanders section of Mount Olive, suffered an injured shoulder and was treated and released from the medical center.
Kim and Won Lee, of Palisades Park, who were in the back seat of the car, were taken to Morristown Medical Center where they were listed in stable condition, Williams said.
The accident was one of hundreds across the state Sunday morning. State Police reported they responded to 428 accidents due to the icy roads and highways on Sunday.
Police departments across Morris County put on warnings about the ice on Sunday and in Hanover alone, police said they responded to 13 motor vehicle accidents.