North Bergen

Rockslide in New Jersey town crushes luxury cars in parking lot

NBC Universal, Inc.

Several luxury vehicles were crushed or badly damaged after overnight storms triggered a rockslide in a New Jersey town.

The heavy rain sent large rocks careening down the steep slope of the Palisades and onto the cars parked behind the Dutchess apartment building on River Road in North Bergen around 1 a.m. Monday. Town emergency officials were at the scene blocking off the parking lot.

A Range Rover, Mercedes-Benz and a BMW were among the vehicles impacted the rockslide. A Bentley was left covered in mud with its windows shattered in the lot next door. A woman whose car windows were shattered said a similar rockslide happened after heavy rain in September.

"When it happened the first time, we didn't think that it would happen again, and this time it's worse," she told NBC New York.

The building has a metal fence and retaining wall put in place to try to prevent rocks from sliding down the cliff during heavy rain, but part of the fence failed. It could be seen covered in dirt and rocks in the parking lot. Engineers were on site examining the damage, including what remained of the fence.

No injuries were reported as a result of the rockslide. Calls and emails to town officials and the building management were not immediately returned.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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