Falling RV kills mechanic at Jackson, NJ gas station in freak accident

🔴 The employee was a 26-year-old Freehold man

🔴 Initial police findings indicate it was an accident

🔴 OSHA has been notified

JACKSON — A mechanic at an Ocean County gas station and service shop has been killed in a tragic accident.

The victim was servicing an RV at GasTime in Jackson on Saturday around 9 a.m., Jackson police Chief Matthew Kunz said. The gas station is located at the corner of Route 526 and Diamond Road.

Suddenly, the RV fell on top of him.

The injuries from the falling vehicle killed the man despite efforts to resuscitate him at the scene, Kunz said.

"It is our preliminary finding that this was a tragic accident," Kunz said.

The victim has been identified as a 26-year-old Freehold man. Authorities have not publicly named him.

How often do falling vehicles kill?

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is investigating the death, OSHA Philadelphia Regional Office spokesperson Joanna Hawkins said. It could take up to six months to complete the investigation.

GasTime has no prior inspection history with the administration, Hawkins said.

A search of the OSHA accident database shows similar deaths in automotive repair are rare but not unprecedented in New Jersey.

One employee working at a service center in Lodi was killed in 2019 when a car rolled off a lift and pinned him, a report said.

Before that, the most recent incident in New Jersey was in Sparta in 2008. An employee working at an auto repair shop was underneath a vehicle when it fell and crushed him.

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