Police: Submerged Car in Mohawk Lake Causes HAZMAT Incident

A submerged car in Mohawk Lake caused a HAZMAT incident Saturday morning when a Sparta man allegedly crashed his car into the lake, police said.

According to Sgt. John-Paul Beebe, 48-year-old Dennis Orth told police he accidentally put his Jeep Liberty in reverse instead of park when he pulled into his driveway on Maple Parkway just after 8 a.m.

Orth’s car took off across the street, smashed through his neighbor’s front gate and careened 250-feet down the neighbor’s lawn into the lake, Beebe said. The car floated out into the lake about 20 feet before sinking in 15-feet of water.

Sussex County HAZMAT Response Team responded with several boats and deployed several hundred feet of fuel containment booms around the crash site, Beebe said.

Hayden’s Towing and Repair recovered the car after six hours along with Jefferson Township and the Picatinny Arsenal Fire Department’s Dive Teams, according to the report.

The incident is still under investigation and charges are pending. There were no injuries reported.