Morristown firefighters were busy on Wednesday, responding to a Route 287 accident involving a busload of kids, and vehicle crashes into two houses.
“Luckily, nobody was hurt,” said Acting Deputy Fire Chief Nick Prizzi.
The bus accident, on the highway’s southbound side near exit 34 in Morris Township, shut down traffic in both directions around 10:40 am, according to 511NJ.
Prizzi said a caravan of tour buses was taking children to a camp when one bus rear-ended another one. New Jersey State Police got all the kids safely off the highway, Prizzi said. Emergency responders from Morris Township and Cedar Knolls also were on the scene, he said.
State Police could not be reached for comment early on Wednesday evening.
Around 11 am, Morristown firefighters were called to Willard Place, where a vacant SUV had rolled about 100 feet into a house, damaging the front window of the residence, Prizzi said.
Then, at about 12:40 pm, two vehicles apparently collided at the intersection of Macculloch Avenue and James Street and slammed into a home at 45 James, buckling the brick foundation, splintering the front stairs and sending the mailbox flying.
The tenant, restaurant critic and entrepreneur Warren Bobrow, had been running errands in Point Pleasant when he got a call from Morristown police.
“You need to get home right away. There’s been an accident at your house,” Bobrow said he was told by a sergeant.
Although ambulances responded, Prizzi said he did not believe the motorists sustained serious injuries. Morristown police did not respond to requests for comment.
Bobrow and neighbor Robert Fitzpatrick said the intersection has seen numerous crashes in recent years as motorists careen from James Street onto Macculloch, to bypass traffic lights on South Street.
“I’m happy no one died. But someday, someone will here,” said Bobrow. He also was grateful that his wine collection, stored on the other side of the brick wall, survived the impact.
“If we can get a four-way stop sign, it will solve the biggest problem in Morristown,” Fitzpatrick said.
When he and his wife Leila bought their James Street home a decade ago, nobody warned them about the symphony of squealing tires and screeching brakes outside their window, he said.
Across the street from the couple, a neighbor’s picket fence was demolished by a vehicle awhile back, Fitzpatrick said.
A block up Macculloch Avenue, homeowner Melissa Marley said a car struck a parked vehicle that skidded onto her property early one morning last winter.
With help from the town public works department and Millburn firefighters, who have special equipment for shoring up structures, Morristown firemen reinforced the damaged wall at 45 James until contractors can make permanent repairs.
“The corner of the building was compromised,” Prizzi said.
I’ll second the “what way were they going?” request, especially whichever car hit both the corner of the building and the stairs.
I’ve had at least 3 close calls there in the past few months. Always been people making the left from Macculloch onto James – they can see just fine, they just try to beat the oncoming traffic or hope that people will yield to them.
James from there to the 287 interchange is also just really a free for all, especially in the township, the cops never run speedtraps even though they could pay like half of a cop’s salary if they only pulled over people going 15+ over the speed limit for a month.
It would be hilarious to have like 5 or 6 strategically-placed speedbumps on James, neighbors should go rogue and put their own in. 🙂
Mr. Bobrow, sorry for the honking, probably woke you up a few times trying to warn off someone about to careen into me.
The cars parked on James is the biggest contributing factor for people not being able to see well when they exit Macculloch
These automobiles must’ve been going far too quickly to be able to cause this amount of damage. We need to slow the speed of the automobile in order to recover the sanctity and safety of the street. How are people expected to walk or bike along the road that people are using as a race track? Pedestrians unite!
The mailbox on a post at the corner blocks the line of sight for smaller cars such as the ones in the photos. Cars parked on James Street can obstruct the line of sight in either direction. Cars on James street driving south from the traffic light tend to speed up as they are going downhill. One morning my car was rear-ended on Macculloch Avenue at the stop sign by a neighbor, no less, who quickly drove away.
Kevin, I’d love to know the direction the two cars were going in the James street crash, if known. I know the area well and just can’t figure it out based on the pictures. Just curious. Thanks.