'Overwhelmed by all the support.' Parsippany sanitation worker begins long road to recovery after amputation
Anthony Shandra left Morristown Medical Center Friday afternoon to cheers and applause as coworkers, neighbors, and loved ones lined Franklin Avenue to wish him well on his journey to long-term rehabilitation.
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A Parsippany sanitation worker and volunteer firefighter is beginning a long recovery after losing the lower half of his leg in a crash last week.
Anthony Shandra left Morristown Medical Center Friday afternoon to cheers and applause as coworkers, neighbors, and loved ones lined Franklin Avenue to wish him well on his journey to long-term rehabilitation.
“I am tremendously overwhelmed by all the support,” Shandra said.
At the end of last month, he was pinned between a car and the garbage truck he was working on while stopped on the side of the road.
“I just thought I was going to walk away with just sore legs,” Shandra said. “Then, I saw everything discombobulated.”
The accident has permanently changed his life, sparking renewed conversations about safety for roadside workers.
“Everybody thinks it. You say ‘not me,’ but it can be you,” Shandra said. “People just have to realize… people have families to go home to.”
His son, Jacob Shandra, said watching his father go through the ordeal has been eye-opening.
“This is my father,” he said. “There’s so many other dads, brothers, husbands, uncles. Everyone’s got their story.”
The incident has reignited attention specifically on New Jersey’s Move Over Law, which requires drivers to slow down and give space to emergency and utility vehicles stopped on the side of the road.
“It happens on a daily basis,” said Joe Egan, a fellow Parsippany sanitation worker. “You just see cars flying by you. They don’t respect the trucks working at all.”
Despite the life-altering injury, though, Shandra’s family said his resilience and humor remain intact.
“He’s hilarious,” Jacob said. “In the darkest of moments, he’ll make you laugh. He’s like the Incredible Hulk... nothing’s going to keep him down.”
Anthony Shandra told News 12 he is now focused on finding his new normal, especially with his son’s wedding just one week away.
“I know he’ll do everything in his power to be there for his son, just like I was there for him,” Jacob said.
Shandra’s coworkers have created a GoFundMe to help support his family during recovery.
