Road was closed to traffic
By John Tredrea, Staff Writer
A home-delivery liquid propane truck going east on Cleveland Road in Hopewell Township crossed the west-bound lane and went into a ditch Wednesday afternoon when the driver lost control for an unknown reason.
The driver, Mark E. Perfette, 55, of Hillsborough, sustained minor injuries during the impact and refused medical attention. No other vehicles were involved in the accident, which occurred shortly after 3 p.m. There was no property damage and no residents were evacuated, police said.
”The truck was significantly damaged and began leaking propane from a valve on the rear of the vehicle,” Chief George Meyer of the township Police Department said this morning (Thursday).
It was estimated the vehicle had approximately 150 gallons of liquid propane in the tank.
Firefighters from Hopewell Borough evaluated the situation, along with the state Department of Environmental Protection. With the assistance of the Ferrell Gas Company, owner of the truck, a device was attached to the tank to safely burn off the remaining propane before the truck could be removed.
Cleveland Road was closed to traffic as a result of the incident and was expected to reopen early this afternoon (Thursday).
The incident remains under investigation.
Patrolman Louis Vastola responded for the township police. The Hopewell Fire Department and Emergency Medical Unit also responded, along with the Hopewell Valley Emergency Services Unit.

