Jeffrey Oakley was killed on impact when a tractor trailer struck his auto Friday night in Elizabeth, NJ.
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The driver of a tractor-trailer cab was shot and wounded by police during a pursuit that ended early Saturday when the cab collided with a auto, killing one person and injuring two others in that vehicle, authorities said.
Burnam was driving a Freightliner cab-style commercial tractor near First Street and Elizabeth Avenue around midnight when he first hit a auto, Park said. Two Elizabeth officers fired at Burnam, striking him at least once.
Moments later, an off-duty police officer spotted Burnam and also attempted to stop him.
At approximately midnight, Burnam was driving a Freightliner cab-style commercial tractor in the area of First Street and Elizabeth Avenue when he first struck a vehicle, according to a preliminary investigation by the Prosecutor’s Office that remains ongoing.
Witnesses say the incident started after the truck driver fired off a gun a few blocks away at a Power Gas station on Newark Avenue near Parker Street.
Police had set up a barricade at this intersection but Burnam drove through it. The pursuit ended when the truck cab driver collided with a auto, killing a man in the vehicle and injuring two others.
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Oakley’s grandmother confirmed his death. Police say Burnam damaged more than a dozen cars throughout the wild chase, and contractors estimate the auto shop has more than $15,000 worth of damage. The driver of that truck is in police custody, facing some very serious charges, while a mourning family is left with the burning question of ‘why?’ Eyewitnesses say the collision echoed like thunder, and what followed was worse than any natural disaster – twisted and mangled metal, shattered pieces of cars, and a young man lying lifeless in the middle of the road.
