Corrections Officer Dies When Trailer Comes Loose, Strikes Car

POSTED: 6:25 pm EDT March 27, 2008

UPDATED: 6:52 pm EDT March 27, 2008

He put his life in danger every day on the
job, but a South Jersey corrections officer lost his life in a way he probably never imagined.

The Millville man was killed in a deadly crash while driving home from work Wednesday night in Maurice River Township, Cumberland County.

New Jersey state police spent Thursday morning making their way through the mangled metal of Lloyd Lovell's 2002 Ford F150.The 51-year-old married father was driving home around 10:30 p.m. Wednesday from his job as a senior corrections officer at the Southern State Correctional Facility.

State police said Lovell's pickup was heading northbound when an enclosed trailer broke free from a Comcast bucket truck and crushed Lovell on the driver's side, killing him instantly.New Jersey state police said both Lovell and the driver of the Comcast truck were traveling in opposite directions on Route 47.

It is unclear how the trailer, hitched to the back of the bucket truck, came loose.State police said they are continuing to look at the metal attachment that was supposed to keep the truck and trailer together.The driver of the Comcast truck, Douglas Whilden, did not answer the door at his Vineland home Thursday.Whilden has not been charged.Comcast has not returned calls for comment.