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Harbeson cemetery board offers reward

Wall at busy intersection damaged three times in November and December
January 15, 2018

Story Location:
Harbeson Road
Lewes-Georgetown Highway
Harbeson, DE
United States

If the board has to cover the estimated $6,000 in repairs for the latest damage to the Harbeson Cemetery wall, it will not leave much money in the organization's account, says treasurer John Kane.

Since the organization has no idea who hit the wall Dec. 6, the board is offering a $200 reward for information that will lead to the identity of the driver whose truck smashed the wall so the church can obtain insurance money to pay for repairs. A nonprofit group of volunteers maintains the 175-year-old cemetery.

The wall – at the Route 9/Harbeson Road intersection – has a history of getting hit by trucks, but a recent series of crashes is unprecedented. In November and December, the wall was hit three times, the latest coming just a few days after repairs from the second crash were made.

“This driver not only hit the wall, but he rode on top of the wall with one wheel riding inside the cemetery over graves,” Kane said, adding the crash probably happened between 9:15 to 9:45 p.m.

He said the only truck capable of doing that much damage is one that collects bone and fat at the nearby Allen Harim plant.

Kane said tractor-trailer drivers for Allen Harim are independent drivers and not employees of the company. “This makes it even harder to find them and get them to pay for the damage they do,” he said.

Kane said only one driver who hit the wall in November and December has been identified. He said witnesses saw the crash and Delaware State Police were called to the scene. “His insurance paid for the repair,” Kane said.

With or without insurance money, the board will eventually have to get a contractor to make repairs.

State transportation plan to upgrade and reconfigure the intersection with a wider turning radius from Route 9 onto Harbeson Road. That project – one of a series of Route 9 intersection improvements – is scheduled to start this spring.

Anyone with information is urged to phone 302-542-0275.

 

 

 

 

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