New Jersey Landscape Contractor Falls Under a Vehicle

A Lindenwold, N.J., man was killed in a landscaping accident Friday morning when he fell beneath a moving vehicle, police said.

Jose Lemus, 22, was working for the Voorhees-based company HNH Landscaping when he fell off the back of a moving pickup truck and was crushed by the trailer that the truck was towing.

At 9:30 Friday morning, Lemus was riding down Willowbrook Drive near Ramblewood Drive on the tow hitch of the vehicle when he allegedly slipped off and was crushed by a trailer carrying landscaping equipment.

Lemus was pronounced dead at the scene. He apparently has no family in this country.

The truck's driver, Martelo Estinoza, 33, of Lindenwold, was charged with careless driving and also with allowing a person to ride on vehicle parts unintended for passengers.