A conversion van's brakes fail and the driver says he pulled it up an embankment to avoid hitting stopped traffic.
A motorist escaped injury when he lost control of his van and it flipped on to its roof Friday on New Brunswick Avenue near Sussex Street in Pohatcong Township.
Township resident Lou Mitschele, 53, said he was driving the 1993 Chevy Van 20 at 12:43 p.m. when he tried to stop as traffic backed up at a red light.
The brakes "let loose," so hoping not to hit a stopped vehicle, Mitschele steered the van to the right, ran up an embankment and a set of stairs, then rolled back down, he said.
The van ended up on its roof in the street. Mitschele said he was fine but he wasn't so sure about the 23-year-old van, which has "only 140,000 miles on it."
"It's lucky it didn't hit anybody," he said.
There was some damage on the concrete stairway that leads to a twin home near the intersection.
Township police were investigating. The road was closed as the probe continued.
Tony Rhodin may be reached at arhodin@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @TonyRhodin. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.