UPDATE: 'Too early to tell' extent of damage from truck that drove on the Boardwalk

VENTNOR CITY -- A tractor-trailer driver found himself in an unusual situation Wednesday morning because of what the driver said was a GPS error.

Ventnor City Police Chief Doug Biagi said an officer spotted an 18-wheel tractor trailer near the Washington Avenue section of the boardwalk around 5:30 a.m. Wednesday.

"It is something that I haven't seen in my 31 years," Biagi said. "We have seen vehicles up there. We have seen vehicles crashed up there. I have never seen an 18-wheeler that had to be about 80 feet long."

The officer who found the tractor-trailer initially thought the truck may have been part of the dune replenishment project, but he investigated further, asking the driver why he was on the boardwalk.

Biagi said the driver told the officer he got on at Albany Avenue in Atlantic City -- based on his directions from his GPS -- continued to drive up the boardwalk almost three miles to Washington Street, and could not get off. The truck could not turn and damaged nearly 100 feet of railings on the boardwalk.

The Ventnor City Public Works Department was involved in the four-hour process that included taking down 100 feet of railings, backloading sand on the corner to allow the truck to make the turn, unhitching the trailer, getting the cab off the truck and getting a tow truck in to help.

Biaga said the driver was not under the influence of alcohol or any drugs, but was issued a couple of summonses, primarily for driving off-road.

City officials and engineers are currently checking to see if the truck caused any structural damage to the boardwalk. Ventnor officials also alerted Atlantic City about the incident to have the stretch the truck traveled checked for damage.

According to the police chief, this is the second time in two months that a truck has come down the boardwalk in Ventnor. The first time was a building supply truck in July.

Chris Franklin can be reached at cfranklin@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @cfranklinnews. Find NJ.com on Facebook