Regional Briefs – July 7, 2019

Family Escapes Serious Injury When Plane Ends Up in Lake

ANDOVER, N.J. (AP) – Authorities say a small plane ran off the end of a runway at a New Jersey airport and went into a lake, but the family of four aboard managed to escape serious injury.

The Cessna C172 plane crashed at the Aeroflex-Andover Airport on Friday afternoon.

Authorities say the plane had departed from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and was headed to Morristown, New Jersey. But it was diverted to Andover due to a temporary flight restriction imposed as President Donald Trump arrived in New Jersey.

Andover Police Chief Eric Danielson says the plane overshot the runway.

Man Saves Swimmer at Jersey Shore on Fourth of July

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) – A New Jersey man is being credited with helping save a swimmer who got stuck in a current on Independence Day.

Fire Chief Scott Evans says Justin Freeman of Atlantic City swam out into the waves to try to help the man at around 8 p.m. on Thursday.

Man Sentenced to 10 Years in Crash That Killed 2 Brothers

MORRISTOWN, N.J. (AP) – A man charged with having been driving drunk at the time of a New Jersey crash that killed his two brothers has been sentenced to 10 years in prison.

Santos Javier Archaga-Mendoza, 37, was sentenced Friday to the aggregate term, which Morris County prosecutors said does not include eligibility for parole.

Firefighters Rescue Dog Stuck 13 Feet Inside Drain Pipe

THORNWOOD, N.Y. (AP) – Volunteer firefighters in suburban New York have rescued a dog who was 13 feet inside a drain pipe.

The Journal News reports that it took three and a half hours for members of the Thornwood Fire Department to rescue a dog named Rex from a storm-drain pipe early Friday.

Fire Chief Frank Kolodzinski says one or two of the department’s skinnier firefighters tried to get close to Rex but space inside the 19-inch pipe was too tight.

Kolodzinski says firefighters devised “a contraption” to coax the dog up to where they could lift him out.

Man Apparently Drowns in Fire Island Swimming Pool

FIRE ISLAND PINES, N.Y. (AP) – Police say a man has apparently drowned in the swimming pool of a Fire Island restaurant.

Suffolk County police say a 911 caller reported an unconscious man in the swimming pool of the Canteen at Fire Island Pines at about 7 p.m. Thursday.

Truck Driver: Brake Failed Before Crash That Snarled Commute

UNION CITY, N.J. (AP) – The driver of a garbage truck that overturned and blocked a major route out of New York City says the vehicle’s brakes failed.

Eulalio Diaz tells WABC-TV that he did everything he could to minimize the damage when his Union City Department of Public Works truck collided with a bus and five other vehicles and then flipped over. It came to rest on an embankment on the New Jersey side of the Lincoln Tunnel, a major artery for entering and leaving New York City.