Greta Schmidt of West Amwell was crushed to death by a pickup truck as she brought garbage to township transfer station
By: Bruce Palmer
WEST AMWELL Police are investigating the death of a woman killed emptying her family’s trash at the township’s garbage transfer station the day before Mother’s Day.
Greta Schmidt, 31, of Linvale-Harbourton Road was placing trash in a large parked garbage truck at the transfer station at 9:20 a.m. Saturday when she was crushed to death by a pickup driven by Edward Hawley, 69, of Rocktown-Lambertville Road, police said. Mr. Hawley was backing his vehicle up to the same parked garbage truck when the accident occurred.
Police said Ms. Schmidt was pronounced dead at the scene. Mr. Hawley voluntarily submitted to blood tests, which determined no alcohol was involved in the accident, police said.
The Hunterdon County Prosecutor’s Office said Tuesday no charges had been filed against Mr. Hawley.
West Amwell provides no garbage pickup for residents, who must instead tote their trash Saturday mornings to the transfer station, a dusty plain about half the size of a football field located behind the new municipal building on Lambertville-Rocktown Road. Residents toss the week’s refuse into the back of a big garbage truck, which then hauls it away around noon.
Detectives from the Prosecutor’s Office assisted members of the township Police Department in the preliminary investigation of the fatality. According to information released Monday, the garbage truck did not have its motor running at the time of the accident.
Ms. Schmidt was a teacher’s assistant at Grover Middle School in Plainsboro and was previously a corporate trainer with Bristol-Myers Squibb in Plainsboro. She leaves behind a husband, John Marshall, and a daughter, Emily, a kindergartner at West Amwell Elementary.
Over Mother’s Day weekend, West Amwell School Superintendent Anthony DeCanzio contacted each family that has a child in Emily’s kindergarten class to ask parents to explain simply and clearly why Emily would not be in school for awhile.
"I really believe that those parents did a wonderful job enabling their own child to understand the facts of the situation in ways he or she could understand," Mr. DeCanzio said, "and to voice out their own fears and concerns as well. But those children came to school prepared to help Emily and to let her know they cared about her."
He added, "Many of them knew that Emily is very, very fond of cats. So they decided to make a card with cats on it, one big enough for all of their names so that Emily could see she had their concern and sympathy. I was pleased and proud of those children."
Born in Doylestown, Pa., Ms. Schmidt lived in Lambertville before moving to West Amwell three years ago.
She received a bachelor’s degree in fine art from Moore College of Art & Design, Philadelphia.
She was active in the National Guard Family Support Aviation Unit in West Trenton.
In addition to her husband and daughter, she is survived her parents, Warren and Joan Cifelli Schmidt of Lambertville; two brothers and sisters-in-law, Mark and Sandra Dorrell of Columbia, and Gary and Mary Dorrell of West Chester, Pa.; a sister, Nora Dorrell of Trenton; two nieces, Abby and Kate Dorrell; her husband’s parents, Jim and Joyce Marshall of West Amwell; three brothers-in-law and sisters-in-law, Jimmy and Maggie Marshall of Robbinsville, George and Susan Marshall Clinton of Nashville, Tenn., Joey Marshall of Robbinsville and Stephanie Marshall of Boston.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 10 a.m. today (May 17) at St. John the Evangelist Roman Catholic Church, 44 Bridge St., Lambertville. Burial will be in Titusville Methodist Church Cemetery.
Arrangements are under the direction of the Garefino Funeral Home, Lambertville.
Memorial donations may be made to Emily J. Marshall Education Fund in care of Summit Bank, 1230 Parkway Ave., Ewing, 08628.