DEERPARK – A dump truck driver escaped what could have been deadly results in an accident in the Town of Deerpark Thursday morning. The accident happened on a steep, winding section of Route 97 known as the Hawks Nest, just after 8 a.m.
The driver of the construction vehicle, which belongs to TAM Enterprises of Goshen, NY, lost control of his vehicle due to steering failure, according to initial reports from police. That resulted in the vehicle hitting a rock cut on the mountain side of the road and being thrown across the road. It then hit a rock wall lining a steep ledge above the Delaware River.
The truck’s front wheels came to rest through the rock wall,] and extended above the ledge. It did not continue onward, or over the cliff.
“It was nothing any man could have done,” Deerpark Police Chief Richard Sztyndor in assessing the truck’s stopped location. “This could only have happened with the help of a higher power.”
The stretch of road extends along a 305 ft. cliff, overlooking the Delaware River below. Should the vehicle have continued just inches further, it no doubt would not have been able to be towed from the wall and back down Route 97 by Prestige towing.
Sparrowbush Engine Company operated in command of operations on scene, assisted by Port Jervis Fire Department for traffic control. State Police assisted Deerpark Police on the call.
Sztyndor said the driver complained of pain in his arms and was transported by ambulance to the hospital for evaluation.
No tickets were issued, and New York Department of Transportation personnel were on scene placing barriers across the rock wall hole as the investigation continued. 
