Truck driver is charged
By:John Tredrea
Two Stockton women sustained injuries Hopewell Township police described as serious but not life-threatening when the minivan one of the women was driving was rear-ended by a fully loaded tractor-trailer in a three-vehicle accident on state Route 29 Tuesday morning. The second woman was a passenger in the minivan.
The driver of the 18-wheeler, Samir Halaba, 48, of Harrison, was charged with careless driving by Patrolman Mike Cseremsak, Lt. George Meyer said.
The 96-inch wide Waste Management Inc. truck Mr. Halaba was driving was impounded and will be inspected by the state police. Lt. Meyer said there appeared to be no mechanical defects to the truck when it was checked over by police at the accident scene.
Lt. Meyer said the three-vehicle chain-reaction accident occurred at about 10:45 a.m. when Carlton Gleason, 41, of Yardley, Pa., activated his left-turn signal and stopped in the southbound lane of Route 29, waiting for a gap in oncoming traffic in order turn left into an Amoco station on the northbound side, near Church Road.
Coming to a halt behind Mr. Gleason was a minivan driven by Aristi Parmann, 73, of Stockton. Ms. Parmann’s passenger, Carol Davis, 50, is also from Stockton.
It was while the minivan was waiting behind Mr. Gleason’s car that it was struck from behind by the tractor-trailer Mr. Halaba was driving. The impact pushed the minivan into Mr. Gleason’s car. Neither Mr. Gleason nor Mr. Halaba was injured in the accident, police said.
Union Fire and Rescue, Hopewell Valley Emergency Services, Lambertville-New Hope Ambulance and Rescue Squad and the Mercer County Lifemobile responded to the accident.
Ms. Parmann, who sustained head injuries, and Ms. Davis, who sustained abdominal injuries, were taken to Capital Systems at Fuld hospital in Trenton after being mechanically extricated from the mini van with "jaws of life" equipment.
Lt. Meyer said Mr. Halaba was hauling a load of garbage from Flanders to the GROWS landfill in Tullytown, Pa., when the accident occurred. He was released pending an appearance in municipal court.

