Police ID victim in fatal tractor-trailer crash as Missouri resident

The victim of a fatal tractor-trailer accident Monday in Hunterdon County has been identified as a 47-year-old Missouri man.

Stephen Phillip Bast Jr., of Springfield, Missouri, was killed when his vehicle left the roadway and struck a tree in Hunterdon County Monday, authorities said Tuesday.

The fatal crash took place at about 12:40 p.m. on State Highway 31 in Lebanon Township, according to a statement released Monday by Hunterdon County Prosecutor Anthony P. Kearns III. Authorities say Bast was driving his tractor-trailer on the southbound side of the roadway when he drove off the road and hit a tree.

The victim's family has been notified but the cause of the crash remains under investigation, police said Tuesday. The State Police Fatal Accident Unit and Commercial Vehicle Inspection Unit are investigating the incident along with local authorities.

Police ask anyone with information about the crash to contact the Lebanon Township Police Department at 908-638-8516 or the Hunterdon County Prosecutor’s office at 908-788-1129.

Toniann Antonelli is a social content producer for NJ 101.5. She can be reached at toniann.antonelli@townsquaremedia.com, or on Twitter @ToniRadio1015.