A 26-year-old Wharton man died early Friday after losing control of his Toyota SUV on westbound Interstate 80 in Parsippany-Troy Hills, then being struck by his own vehicle as it rolled backward following the initial crash. Daniel Sandchez Valencia was pronounced dead at the scene near milepost 41.8.
The crash happened around 5:39 a.m. on Oct. 30, according to WRNJ Radio, which reported that Sandchez Valencia lost control of the vehicle, veered off the roadway to the left, traveled down a grassy median and struck a tree. The same report, citing a preliminary investigation, noted that Sandchez Valencia had exited his vehicle before it rolled backward and struck him, then crashed into a second tree. New Jersey State Police spokesman Christopher Postorino confirmed the sequence of events to the station.
As reported by Daily Voice, Sandchez Valencia was driving west on Route 80 when he lost directional control before the fatal sequence unfolded. RLS Media similarly identified him as a Wharton resident who was driving a Toyota SUV westbound when he lost control.
Investigation Remains Open
State Police said the crash remained under investigation and that no additional information was immediately available, per the same WRNJ Radio account. Postorino has not released further details on what caused Sandchez Valencia to lose control of the SUV in the first place.
This is not the only fatal crash this year tied to a driver losing control on Route 80 in Morris County. In March, 63-year-old Dennis Wynn of Wilkes-Barre was killed when he lost directional control of his BMW SUV on westbound Route 80 in Mount Olive, striking a guardrail end and a light post before going down an embankment and overturning, according to Postorino's account to Daily Voice. Wynn was pronounced dead at the scene, and that crash also remained under investigation.
Separate Crash Snarled Eastbound Lanes
In an unrelated incident, a four-vehicle crash on eastbound I-80 near milepost 42.3 in Parsippany-Troy Hills injured three people and caused a Ford van to overturn, the WRNJ Radio report noted. That crash involved two Freightliner tractor-trailers along with the Ford van and a Nissan van, and the injured drivers were taken to a hospital with minor injuries.
