Today (Friday) at around 1:15pm, a reader of A Little Beacon Blog was driving north on 9D, getting ready to turn onto the Newburgh/Beacon Bridge. A truck behind them starting beeping their horn. The reader thought perhaps the truck driver thought they were going too slow. In response, the reader gave the driver the gesture of flipping the finger, and then the driver allegedly became more aggressive with the horn.

The truck driver, who the reader described as a white male, maybe in his 40s who was wearing glasses that may have had a tint like from transitions, allegedly rolled down his window and started screaming at the reader while they were driving. The reader could not hear the words that the truck driver was yelling. As the reader was crossing the bridge, the driver of the truck came up in the passing lane and crossed in front of the reader, who then took a photo of the truck, which allegedly was an EarthCare truck.

The reader then read A Little Beacon Blog’s article published earlier this week featuring another truck driving incident, that highlighted what appeared to be an EarthCare truck driver blowing through a crosswalk on 9D near Rose Hill (not an intersection with a traffic light, but a crosswalk), where a parent an child were standing waiting to cross. After the truck blew through the crosswalk, the parent flipped off the driver, who then slammed on his breaks after blowing through the crosswalk (the tire marks can be seen in the middle of the road in that article), and indicated that the was going to exit the vehicle, but did not and continued driving.

For this traffic safety incident on the Newburgh'/Beacon Bridge, the reader told ALBB that they called the Beacon Police at 1:23pm, who said they would call EarthCare about the reported incident. EarthCare is a company that contracts with the City of Beacon to haul wastewater to the Wastewater Treatment Plant down at Dennings Point.

A Little Beacon Blog sent a Contact Us form to EarthCare at 4:30pm, and will report back if they respond. Read about how they responded to ALBB after the first incident here.

The license plate number of the alleged truck is 8569A. The reader said that the driver was a white male who wore glasses. The reader had the feeling that the glasses were not sunglasses, and may have had a tint, but could not be sure.

When following up with the pedestrian of the earlier incident on Wolcott, that reader mentioned that the driver was a white male who may have been wearing sunglasses.

On Monday morning (May 16, 2022) at 9am, a parent was waiting at a crosswalk to walk their child across Wolcott Avenue towards Main Street when a large industrial truck that was teal in color with a round carriage that allegedly said EarhCare on the cab, drove past the pedestrians through the crosswalk without stopping. The crosswalk is a regular crosswalk with an added yellow sign and yellow flashing lights for extra visibility. There is a button to activate the flashing lights that the child did press. This crosswalk is not at a traffic light at an intersection. It is in the middle of the road, closer to Rose Hill Day Care. The flashing lights do not need to flash in order to give the pedestrian the right of way.

“If there is a pedestrian in the crosswalk in your lane, you should yield to them.”

— Beacon Police Officer

When asked if the flashing lights matter for a car to stop or not at a crosswalk in the middle of the road, a Beacon Police Officer who answered the desk phone that takes public inquiries stated: “If there is a pedestrian in the crosswalk in your lane, you should yield to them.”

After the truck passed them, the parent raised their arm and flipped off the driver of the truck. Seeing the gesture and looking at the parent in the eye, the truck driver, who was described as a white male, slammed on the breaks, bringing the truck to a screeching halt through and past the crosswalk. The tire tracks can be seen in these pictures. Once the truck stopped, the parent said: “You should have stopped before the crosswalk!”

An EarthCare truck parked at Beacon’s Wastewater Treatment Plant at 90 Dennings Avenue near the Transfer Station at Dennings Point. The parent said the truck that slammed on the breaks after the crosswalk on Wolcott Avenue was an EarthCare truck driving in the direction of the Transfer Station.

According to the parent, it looked like the driver was getting ready to exit his vehicle. Said the parent: “I was on the west side of the street on the sidewalk. I started walking toward the truck when he looked like he was aggressively getting out.”

When ALBB asked if the driver may have been quickly stopping for a squirrel or deer, the parent replied: “Absolutely not. And if he didn’t stop for the human child, do you think he was going to stop for a squirrel? He was looking at me in the face when he stopped”

The truck was headed in the direction of Beacon’s Transfer Station and Wastewater Treatment Plant. EarthCare is a wastewater management company contracted with the City of Beacon. A likeness photo of EarthCare’s truck that the parent saw - not necessarily the truck that screeched to a halt - is shown here in this article. The photo was taken Monday, May 16, 2022 at Beacon’s Transfer Station where the Wastewater Treatment Plant is.

Update 5/20/2022: The morning after ALBB sent a Contact Us form to EarthCare seeking confirmation and comment about the driving incident, a representative from EarthCare named Dave called at 9am to get more details and offered to pull driving records. ALBB returned his call at 9:30am, but never heard back. ALBB placed a second followup call the following day, and has not heard back.