A $1.45 million settlement was reached in Union Count suit Valiente v. Garden State Lumber Products Transport for an Elizabeth resident injured in 2018 when the car carrier transport vehicle he was operating was rear-ended by a box truck, leaving him seriously injured. The settlement was reached on May 8.

Hector Valiente, who was 46 years old at the time of the crash, was driving westbound on I-495 in North Hills, New York, when the box truck, operated by Luis Perez of Garden State Lumber, rear-ended the car carrier. As a result of the crash, Valiente suffered injuries to his neck and knees, but still drove the car carrier back to New Jersey, where he later sought medical care for his injuries, said his lawyer, William A. Bock of Gill & Chamas in Woodbridge.