Box truck driver ticketed in utility pole crash on Route 72 in Stafford

Stafford Township Police have ticketed the driver of a large box truck that struck a utility pole on Route 72 Thursday afternoon, for not having a valid New Jersey Driver's license.

Authorities said 26-year-old Marino-Perez Pena and his passenger, 60-year-old Saul Marinho, were uninjured when the truck drove off the highway near West Road around 4:45 p.m. and into the utility pole, causing wires to dangle over the road and a power outage on several nearby streets for about an hour.

Police secured the hazardous area and were able to keep traffic along Route 72 moving after closing the right lane. Multiple emergency agencies assisted police, including the Stafford Fire Department, Stafford EMS, the New Jersey Department of Transportation and the Atlantic City Electric Company.

While the scene was contained for safety, authorities said they received multiple reports of traffic lights not functioning. Police manned the Route 72 intersections at Captain Randolph, Mermaid, Breakers, Neptune, and Route 9 and Bay Ave for about an hour while power was restored. The Route 72/Captain Randolph intersection, controlled by the state DOT, took longer to restore, according to authorities.

The box truck that was involved in the accident sustained heavy front end damage and was towed from the scene.

The cause remains under investigation by Stafford Patrolman Michael Wade.