Driver Lost Tire Before Fatal Crash, Police Say

A Florham Park woman who died Wednesday morning in a fiery one-car accident on Brooklake Road hit a curb and lost a tire before her car struck a utility pole near Beechwood Road, police said Thursday.

The car lost a tire and was riding on its rim when the vehicle crashed into the utility pole a few hundred feet after hitting the curb, Florham Park Police Capt. Robert Treiber said.

The impact of the crash snapped the pole in half, brought live wires on the car and resulted in the car catching fire.

Police officers and firefighters extinguished the blaze, and firefighters extricated the driver from the vehicle once the utility company disconnected power to the area.

The driver, 70-year-old Mary Mueller, was pronounced dead at the scene.

Deputy Morris County Medical Examiner Dr. Carlos Fonseca determined the cause of death was blunt force trauma of the chest and the manner of death was determined to be accidental, Jeffrey Paul, spokesperson for the Morris County Medical Examiner’s Office, said.

Treiber said investigators are still trying to piece together what happened and police are asking witnesses to call the Florham Park Police Department at 973-377-2200.