Residents in a quiet community got quite the jolt overnight when a pickup truck slammed into an area waterway.
The truck was heading west on Weymouth Road in Vineland, Cumberland County, N.J., a little after 1 a.m. when the unidentified driver suddenly crossed the center line, veered off the road past a guardrail, through the trees and into the water below where the Morris River meets Willow Grove Lake.
The truck wound up halfway submerged in about 4 feet of water.
Residents rushed out of their homes to see what happened and found the pickup driver breathing but unconscious in the cab of the truck with water up to his knees.
"He went down right in the water and we could see that the guy was breathing so we waited for ambulance and police to get there," said resident Joe Giocondo.
Residents called 911. Crews arrived, put on wet suits, got the man out of the cab and airlifted him to Cooper University Hospital in critical condition with undisclosed injuries. He was the only occupant of the truck.
Part of Weymouth Road remained closed for hours as crew investigated what caused the wreck.
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It took hours for the soaked truck to be lifted out.
