Dump Truck

DERRY, N.H. - Ron McPhail mashed the horn and leaned out the window of his dump truck, yelling at the politician who was walking down the sidewalk Tuesday pursued by a pack of about 50 photographers and reporters. "Way to go, Mitt!" he said. "You've got my vote!" Mitt Romney, the former governor of Massachusetts, grinned, confident after emerging almost untouched from his first Republican presidential debate Monday night. He celebrated by tearing through two diners, a hardware store, and a feed store, accepting compliments on his performance and continuing to push his economic message that President Obama has failed to put the nation on a prosperous path.

As usual, the mournful bagpipe plays as one by one, the names of those killed on the job are read out loud, and as, one by one, a rose for each is tossed into the Delaware River. As usual, joggers running along Penns Landing slow their pace slightly, wondering about the empty coffin on the wall and why more than 100 people have gathered near it, some crying, some holding signs, each with someone's name and a date of death. As usual, leaders in the local labor movement mingle with the families members of those who died.

A purple dump truck, loaded with stone, caused a two-car accident on the Burlington-Bristol Bridge on Wednesday, and the driver of the truck fled the scene, officials said. The accident, shortly before 1:30 p.m., closed the two-lane span over the Delaware River in both directions for about four hours, said Liz Verna, spokeswoman for the Burlington County Bridge Commission. An object came off the truck, which was heading into New Jersey, and hit a vehicle traveling into Pennsylvania. That vehicle then lost control and crossed into oncoming traffic, striking a second New Jersey-bound vehicle, according to Verna.

At least two vandals tore up a Pennsylvania Department of Transportation facility in Hunting Park on Monday night, resulting in damage costing up to $200,000, officials said. State Police haven't arrested anyone for the destructive spree, which involved ramming a vehicle into the side of a building, on Ruffner Street near Pulaski Avenue. A crew-cab pickup truck, worth $40,000, was totaled. The structural damage to the front of the building is estimated to cost between $75,000 and $150,000 to repair, said Nick Martino, assistant executive for maintenance at the facility.

A demolition derby rampage at the PennDot yard in North Philadelphia Monday night caused an estimated $175,000 to $200,000 in damage to vehicles and a repair building at the facility, an agency official said Tuesday. The intruder - or intruders - used a crew truck to ram the building, a dump truck, two other crew trucks and an equipment loader at the yarf at Blaine and Ruffner Streets in Nicetown, officials said. State Police are investigating the break-in, but due to budget cutbacks, the surveillance camera contract for the facility had expired and investigators have no videos to examine.

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania announced recently that it was officially worried about the prospect of drought. The atmosphere must have taken it personally. For the fourth time in five days, heavy rain pounded parts of the region, turning Delaware County river towns into water parks, forcing evacuations in northern Delaware, and closing busy roads in South Jersey in time for the evening commute. The slow-motion afternoon storm deposited more than 1.75 inches at Philadelphia International Airport, where more rain has fallen in the last five days than in the previous 74. More than 3.5 inches was measured in Pennsauken.

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania announced recently that it was officially worried about the prospect of drought. The atmosphere must have taken it personally. For the fourth time in five days, heavy rains pounded parts of the region, turning Delaware County river towns into water parks, forcing evacuations in northern Delaware, and closing busy roads in South Jersey in time for the evening commute. The slow-motion afternoon storm deposited more than 1.75 inches at Philadelphia International Airport, where more rain has fallen in the last five days than in the previous 74. More than 3.5 inches was measured in Pennsauken.

PEN ARGYL, Pa. - Authorities say a 12-year-old boy was killed and his father critically injured when the boy accidentally backed a dump truck into the cap of an underground propane tank, setting off an explosion at the Cherry Hill Tree Farm in northeastern Pennsylvania. The Northampton County chief deputy coroner, Kelly Gillis, said Luke Hahn was pronounced dead at the farm just after noon Monday. Bushkill Police Chief Stan Coopersmith said the father and son were working at the farm when the boy drove over the tank, knocking off the cap and sparking the explosion.

Mark Fidrych, an eccentric All-Star pitcher nicknamed "The Bird" whose career was shortened by knee and shoulder injuries, was found dead yesterday in an apparent accident at his farm. He was 54. Worcester County District Attorney Joseph D. Early Jr. said a family friend found Fidrych about 2:30 p.m. yesterday beneath a dump truck at his Northborough, Mass., farm. He appeared to be working on the truck, Early said. The curly-haired righthander was the American League Rookie of the Year in 1976 when he went 19-9 with a 2.34 ERA and 24 complete games.

Fidrych found dead A rookie righthander started the 1976 All-Star Game at the now-defunct Veterans Stadium. He had won seven of his first eight decisions and went on to win 19 games that year, which was easily the finest of his brief five-year career. Yesterday afternoon, a family friend found Mark "The Bird" Fidrych lying beneath a dump truck on the former player's farm in Northborough, Mass., dead at the age of 54. Worcester County District Attorney Joseph D. Early Jr. said Mr. Fidrych appeared to have been working on the truck.