Crane Truck Overturns into Two Homes on Sunny Hill Terrace After Underground Tank Collapses

River Vale, NJ - Emergency crews engaged in an intricate, hours-long recovery operation Thursday after a massive crane truck toppled over when an underground concrete seepage tank caved in beneath its weight, sending its extended boom crashing directly onto two neighboring residences along Sunny Hill Terrace.

On September 17, the River Vale Fire Department and borough police were dispatched to the residential block following reports of an industrial equipment failure resulting in severe structural impacts. Responding units discovered that ground stability had failed beneath a large crane truck, causing a subterranean seepage tank to collapse. The loss of ground support caused the heavy commercial vehicle to overturn completely, sending the massive steel boom crashing down across the roofs of two adjacent private dwellings.

Firefighters immediately established a safety collapse zone, cordoned off the block, and executed a rapid precautionary evacuation of the compromised residential spaces. During the evacuation sweep, firefighters successfully located and rescued a family pet cat trapped inside the affected structure, returning the animal uninjured.

Given the extreme weight, awkward angle, and unstable nature of the wreckage resting against residential framing, incident commanders called in specialized heavy-duty rotators, multiple heavy wreckers, and an auxiliary crane to stabilize the downed apparatus. Utility crews from PSE&G were summoned to isolate electrical feeds to the impacted homes and actively relocate overhead power lines so heavy recovery rigs could maneuver safely.

Once stabilization rigging was secured, industrial recovery teams utilized oxyacetylene cutting torches to dismantle the crumpled boom into manageable sections. River Vale firefighters maintained a continuous charged hose line standby throughout the hot-work operation, swiftly dousing a small secondary fire that flared up during the cutting process.

After hours of meticulous rigging and dismantling work, crews began the mechanical process of uprighting and extricating the crane truck from the collapsed tank void, with fire department personnel operating continuously on scene for well over six hours to maintain fire safety and scene stability.