Unlicensed Bulldozer Driver Charged In Death Of North Bergen Recycling Plant Worker, 61

A 38-year-old North Bergen recycling plant trolly cart operator was charged in the death of his 61-year-old coworker, authorities said.

Lincoln Recycling Service on Dell Avenue in North Bergen.
Photo Credit: *Google Maps*

Cecilia Levine

01/02/2020 4:57 p.m.

Santiago Ventura Blanco was operating a bulldozer and pushing a concrete dumpster at Lincoln Recycling on Dell Avenue when Horacio Juarez Diaz was pinned between the dumpster and a wall Thursday afternoon, Hudson County Prosecutor Esther Suarez said.

Diaz of Union City was found lifeless by responding police officers and pronounced dead at the scene around 3:20 p.m., Suarez said.

Blanco of East Newark was arrested at the scene at 4 p.m., and charged with causing a death while driving unlicensed, authorities said.

He was released pending his first appearance in Central Judicial Processing Court at 1 p.m. on Jan. 23.

The cause and manner of death for Diaz are pending an investigation by the Regional Medical Examiner’s Office.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the Office of the Hudson County Prosecutor at 201-915-1345 or to leave an anonymous tip at http://www.hudsoncountyprosecutorsofficenj.org/homicide-tip/. All information will be kept confidential.

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