The driver, "not wanting to take any chances," notified police after finding the item, Police Chief David Pegg told Daily Voice.
The Bergen County Bomb Squad responded to the call just before 3 p.m. and determined it was harmless, he said.
As that call came in, another report of a suspicious duffel bag at a nearby bus stop near the Hackensack border proved unfounded.
Essex street was briefly shut between Maywood Avenue and the Hackensack border. It was reopened about a half-hour later.
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