Khurram Saeed

A dump truck with an open gate left a 30-mile trail of sharp metal shards on highways in three states, leaving a dozen cars with flat tires and shutting the northbound Tappan Zee Bridge for three hours.

State police tracked down the truck in Mahwah, N.J., after it had caused havoc on Westchester and Rockland roads starting shortly before 2 a.m. Tuesday. They later reported the driver had a suspended license due to seven past incidents in New York.

The yellow 1999 Kenworth started from Stamford, Conn., filled with metal debris, some with jagged edges, used to make transmission parts en route to Reading, Pa. It left a destructive path on Interstate 95 in Connecticut, the Cross-Westchester Expressway, the Thruway, Interstate 287 in New Jersey and Route 17 in New Jersey after its rear gate opened, state police Sgt. John Antonelli said.

"We were getting calls of people running over this stuff," Antonelli said. "Two of our troopers got flat tires trying to locate the truck."

The shards flattened tires on more than 10 cars, mostly in White Plains and South Nyack.

The driver, John Robinson, 51, of Bridgeport, Conn., was seemingly unaware of his haul spilling until he pulled over on his own into a parking lot in Mahwah, where troopers following the debris trail saw him trying to reload some of the shards, Antonelli said. Mahwah police also responded.

Robinson was issued three tickets. One was for second-degree aggravated unlicensed operation due to having seven suspensions in New York on his Connecticut license. He also was charged with a log book violation and failing to secure the cargo he was hauling, both misdemeanors, police said.

The truck is registered to Affordable Materials LLC in Stamford. A message left for the business was not returned Tuesday. Robinson was released to another driver and is due this month in Ramapo Town Court.

Three northbound lanes on the Tappan Zee Bridge were closed about 2:30 a.m. so crews and a sweeper truck could collect the debris, a Thruway spokeswoman said. There were temporary lane closures along I-287 in Westchester and the Thruway in Rockland, including the left lane between Exits 14A and 15 in Ramapo, that caused traffic to back up. The lanes were cleared around 5:30 a.m. and there were residual delays, police said.

Antonelli said debris on the road is not uncommon but it's typically quarry trucks spilling rocks.

Twitter: @ksaeed1