New Jersey

USPS Mailboxes Litter Highway After Accident in New Jersey

What to Know

  • USPS mailboxes littered a New Jersey highway Monday morning after a fender-bender on Interstate 280 in West Orange
  • Chopper 4 showed at least five large blue USPS mailboxes on the highway near the ramp for exit 9; USPS says they were empty and old
  • The highway was briefly shut down as authorities moved the mailboxes off to the side of the road; there was some rubbernecking in the area

At least a half-dozen USPS mailboxes -- the big blue ones -- were left in the middle of a New Jersey highway after a fender-bender Monday, authorities say. 

Authorities say a tractor-trailer apparently rear-ended the truck that was carrying the USPS mailboxes, which were old, empty and being transported to turn into scrap. They fell off the truck on Interstate 280 eastbound, in West Orange, after the accident around 9 a.m.

An aerial view showed quite an unusual scene. 

Chopper 4 showed at least five large blue USPS mailboxes on the highway near the ramp for exit 9. Some were tipped over or leaning precariously, others were open in the front -- and papers or some similar sort of debris were in the road. A USPS spokesman said the mailboxes were originally from Livingston and had already been placed with new ones. 

No injuries were reported. Chopper 4 showed a heavily damaged sedan stopped behind a truck, the one that apparently had been carrying the mailboxes, on the highway, though State Police couldn't confirm if that vehicle was also involved in the accident. The highway was shut down for a few minutes so crews could move the heavy mailboxes off to the side of the road.  

Not surprisingly, traffic appeared to be rubbernecking in the area. 

Contact Us