Crime & Safety

Malden DPW Snow Plow Hits Tree on Cedar Street

A city-owned snow plow was damaged when it struck a tree late Tuesday night on Cedar Street in Malden.

Updated at 11 a.m. Thursday, Jan. 23

A city-owned snow plow was damaged while working during the snowstorm late Tuesday night on Cedar Street, according to Det. Lt. Marc Gatcomb.

The incident happened around 11 p.m. Jan. 21, according to Gatcomb. 

"The city-owned and operated plow struck a tree on Cedar Street," Gatcomb said. "The impact of the plow forced a large section of the tree to be ripped off that needed to be removed."

The vehicle was a DPW dump truck being operated with a plow attached to the front, according to Gatcomb. 

"The dump box...that extends over the cab of the truck struck the tree and was bent backwards and severely damaged that portion of the vehicle, he said.

DPW Director Bob Knox Jr. said the "driver was plowing the street, pushing snow to the curb and there was one low-hanging (large branch) that caught the back of the sander."

"Those sanders that we have on the trucks are slide-in sanders and they are probably a good height above the regular size of the cab so it caught the back of the sander and bent up what we call the catwalk on the front of the sander," Knox said. 

The vehicle, a Ford F550 one-ton dump truck that the DPW has had for several years, will be repaired in-house, Knox said. He added that the damage was more "cosmetic than it was a functioning problem."

"We were able to use it the rest of the storm," Knox said. "It's actually in my shop right now getting dismantled and we'll repair it...so the costs shouldn't be too much."

The driver wasn't doing anything negligent at the time the incident happened, according to Knox.

No one was injured during the crash, according to Gatcomb. 

Originally posted on Jan. 22 at 7:17 p.m.


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