DELAWARE:Toll collector killed after snagged by truck

The truckdriver was not aware of the accident and continued on I-95, but his license plate number was recorded and he was tracked down later.

The Turnpike’s Toll Systems Administrator Jon Osborne was in the administration building alongside the toll plaza at the time (2:40pm) and arrived on the scene in the lane within minutes of the accident. He says toll collectors nearby rushed to Collins, closed off the lane, covered him with blankets and called for help very effectively.

Osborne spoke to Collins where he lay and says he was fully conscious but moaning in great pain. An ambulance arrived within a few minutes. At the hospital Osborne says he spoke with Collins again as he was being prepared for surgery. None of the toll staff at the hospital realized at first that he had life-threatening injuries, but doctors shocked them warning he had suffered severe abdominal trauma and such extensive internal bleeding that his life was in danger. He came out of surgery alright, but succumbed to heart failure from blood loss at 8:30pm.

Police accept the truckdriver’s story that he knew nothing of the accident and no charges will be filed. The driver was apparently quite shocked when found and told what had happened. The snagging of Collins occurred behind the cab, and the driver’s attention was on the merge area ahead. Video surveillance tape allowed the State Police to utilize a VIN number seen on the side of the truck to locate the truck. An autopsy report said Collins was not run over by the wheels of the truck, but was dragged between the truck and curb bashed repeatedly.

Osborne says no one knows why Collins stepped out of his toll booth. He was not due to go on a scheduled break and did not ask the superintendent permission for a bathroom visit or other unscheduled break, which is required under turnpike rules. Collins walked to the front of his booth, away from the tunnel steps which are at the back of the booth. Maybe he was

taking just a momentary break ‘to catch a breath of fresh air’ as they say?

Collins was a popular man in the Newark collector crew, and Osborne

says everyone there was badly shaken and grieved by the incident. It was the first toll plaza death in the history of the Turnpike.

Osborne says he hopes there is “something positive, some lesson we can learn out of the tragedy.” Turnpike staff are thinking about how safety training can be improved and considering safety equipment options including safety gates. (John Osborne 302 631 4020)