Drivers Survive Close Call After Plow Pushes Ice From Overpass Onto Garden State Parkway
CLIFTON, N.J. (CBSNewYork) -- A pair of drivers on the Garden State Parkway received quite a scare when ice suddenly came crashing down, smashing their windshields.
They say it was all because of a snowplow on an overpass.
The two drivers say the plow was cleaning the roadway on the Route 3 overpass when the icy mess was pushed over the barrier and came crashing down, straight into their cars as they drove on the busy highway.
"When it hit, it felt like rocks," driver Brian Verga said.
Both drivers knew it was a close call.
"Couple more pounds of ice and snow, I probably wouldn't be here," driver Priscilla Torres said.
Torres and Verga were both on in the Parkway's southbound lanes, heading home around 9 a.m. Saturday when they say the hefty chunks of ice fell onto their cars near Exit 153 in Clifton.
"It was like an avalanche," Torres said. "There was a loud crash."
"This heavy ice, not snow," Verga said. "I could feel the impact of it pushed down a little bit."
Despite the messy mix of debris and ice, they both managed to slowly pull over and jointly call for help.
"There was just glass all over me," Torres said.
"I was just blinded by bits of glass and no visibility through my windshield," Verga said.
The two were left with pricey repairs of over $300 each.
But who was driving the plow, and who should be held responsible?
"I'm getting the runaround and it's been difficult to get an answer," Verga said.
CBS2 reached out to the New Jersey State Department of Transportation, but got no response. At this point it's unclear if the plow in question was a state-sanctioned vehicle or from a private company.
In any case, the drivers say what happened is unacceptable. They add they want to see a higher barrier across the overpass, as well as better regulation of plows to prevent what happened to them from happening to anyone else in the future.
