Dump truck smashes through Hillside Route 22 car dealership

HILLSIDE — A dump truck crashed through the front of a car dealership on Route 22 East on Monday afternoon.

The front of Route 22 Nissan was completely knocked out when the truck crashed into the building around 4 p.m.

The showroom and call center were empty at the time, general manager Mike DeLaCruz told New Jersey 101.5.

"It was lucky. No one was injured. We had just had a meeting in another building and there was no one inside the building at that time," DeLaCruz said.

"It took down our digital sign, went through three pilings that block the front of the building," he said, adding that the dealership is now open for business.

The damage to the building is still being assessed and the call center has been moved, according to DeLaCruz, who said it took more than five hours to get the truck out of the building.

DeLaCruz said the the truck driver was trying to avoid a bus when he lost control and crashed into the showroom. The driver did not appear injured. The truck did not have the name of its operator on the exterior.

RLS Metro Breaking News, which was first to report the crash, reported that 40 gallons of fuel from the truck's tanks also spilled, which brought out the Union County Hazardous Material team.  It took over five hours to remove the truck from the building, according to DeLaCruz.

Cleanup of the crash closed the right lane of Route 22 and caused multi-mile delays.

Hillside police did not immediately return a message from New Jersey 101.5 on Tuesday morning.

Contact reporter Dan Alexander at Dan.Alexander@townsquaremedia.com or via Twitter @DanAlexanderNJ