A small snowplow clearing a footbridge over Route 208 fell through a hole onto a van on the highway in Hawthorne on Monday, injuring three people, police said.

The Bobcat snowplow fell through the footbridge just south of the Goffle Road exit at 11:03 a.m., crashing onto a van marked Hawthorne Mechanical Contractors and crushing its front passenger side, Capt. Jeff Vanderhook said in a statement.

Three people were injured and taken to local hospitals, Vanderhook said. The extent of their injuries was not known.

The state Department of Transportation owns the pedestrian bridge but Passaic County is responsible for the maintenance, said Steve Schapiro, a DOT spokesman.

"Pedestrian footbridges are not designed to carry vehicles and therefore don’t have posted weight limits like a bridge carrying cars and trucks," Schapiro said. "The bridge has been closed, and NJDOT engineers are evaluating the structure. At this time, it is too early to speculate what might be necessary."

Brian Crawford, who was visiting his father, who lives nearby, recalled hearing a "big crashing noise" before running to the scene of the crash. When Crawford arrived, he saw the work van crushed, its windshield completely caved in.

"I saw the two guys in the truck," Crawford said, referring to the work van. "The whole front was smashed from the top. The whole windshield was on them. They were trapped in there."

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One man in the work van was trying to dial his phone and was shaking, Crawford said. The other was moaning, he said.

The Bobcat snowplow was seen lying on its side as the driver was loaded onto a gurney. A man who appeared to be the driver of the Bobcat snowplow was lying on the ground, with cuts on his head, Crawford said.

Crawford said that when he asked the man if he was OK, he replied, "Call my wife. Call my wife."

Firefighters worked to pry a passenger out of the severely damaged van, using a buzz saw to cut through the crumpled passenger-side door.

A man who picked up the phone at a number listed for Hawthorne Mechanical declined to comment.

Kimberly Herbe was walking her dog, Archie, when she heard about the incident. The borough resident said kids at Roosevelt Elementary School cross the pedestrian bridge daily.

"My mom uses it every single morning," Herbe said. "I was shocked. That bridge never felt not sturdy."

The state DOT, New Jersey State Police, Passaic County Prosecutor's Office and Hawthorne Police Department were all investigating the crash.

Email: torrejon@northjersey.com

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