Photo: ABC News
One garbage truck caused mayhem in Brooklyn on Saturday, as the driver lost control of the vehicle and plowed through 9 parked cars, totaling 4 of them, mowing down trees and destroying a front porch. Then, he tried to flee the scene of the accident.
That’s because he was drunk. The accident took place near 60th Street and 19th Avenue in Borough Park, and resulted in thousands of dollars in damages.
Eyewitnesses tell ABC News that, when the driver got out of the truck and saw the kind of damage he had caused, he seemed disoriented. His next move was to make a run for it, while screaming that he didn’t do it, perhaps hoping that no one would follow – but that wasn’t the case.
When the cop chasing him stumbled and fell, 40-year-old Anthony Castaldo was chased down by the very people whose cars he’d wrecked, as they’d come out of their house to see what the racket was all about. They compared the noise to the one made during an earthquake.
“It sounded like an earthquake,” one neighbor tells the NY Post. “Cars piled up like dominoes. It’s a miracle nobody was killed.”
Indeed, cars did pile up like dominoes: one white SUV was thrown on top of a Nissan Rogue, with the latter being totaled in the process. Even an FDNY car on the way to the scene was almost hit by the out-of-control garbage truck, the Post says.
Castaldo was caught in a dead-end alley and charged with driving under the influence, reckless driving, resisting arrest, fleeing the scene of the accident and refusing to take the breathalyzer test. He was released on bail the following day and is due in court to answer to the charges.
In a statement to the media, Viking Sanitation takes some responsibility for the accident, saying, “Our company has a long track record of safety and we hold ourselves to high standards, including random drug testing for drivers. It appears that this driver failed to adhere to our standards and he was immediately suspended as part of the ongoing investigation of this serious incident.”
Eyewitnesses tell ABC News that, when the driver got out of the truck and saw the kind of damage he had caused, he seemed disoriented. His next move was to make a run for it, while screaming that he didn’t do it, perhaps hoping that no one would follow – but that wasn’t the case.
When the cop chasing him stumbled and fell, 40-year-old Anthony Castaldo was chased down by the very people whose cars he’d wrecked, as they’d come out of their house to see what the racket was all about. They compared the noise to the one made during an earthquake.
“It sounded like an earthquake,” one neighbor tells the NY Post. “Cars piled up like dominoes. It’s a miracle nobody was killed.”
Indeed, cars did pile up like dominoes: one white SUV was thrown on top of a Nissan Rogue, with the latter being totaled in the process. Even an FDNY car on the way to the scene was almost hit by the out-of-control garbage truck, the Post says.
Castaldo was caught in a dead-end alley and charged with driving under the influence, reckless driving, resisting arrest, fleeing the scene of the accident and refusing to take the breathalyzer test. He was released on bail the following day and is due in court to answer to the charges.
In a statement to the media, Viking Sanitation takes some responsibility for the accident, saying, “Our company has a long track record of safety and we hold ourselves to high standards, including random drug testing for drivers. It appears that this driver failed to adhere to our standards and he was immediately suspended as part of the ongoing investigation of this serious incident.”
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