Driver killed after fiery 4-truck crash on New Jersey Turnpike
Three tractor-trailers caught fire after a chain-reaction crash on the northbound inner roadway, temporarily shutting down lanes Thursday morning.
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A driver was killed in a fiery four-truck crash on the New Jersey Turnpike in Carteret early Thursday, according to New Jersey State Police.
Troopers responded to the crash at around 4 a.m. on the northbound inner roadway near milepost 96.2 in Middlesex County.
According to a preliminary investigation, two Freightliner tractor-trailers were stopped in the right lane, and a third Freightliner was stopped in the center lane because of traffic. A fourth Freightliner struck the rear of the stopped trucks.
State police said three of the tractor-trailers caught fire and became fully engulfed in flames. The impact also pushed the Freightliners in the right lane into a rear-end collision.
The driver of the fourth Freightliner was killed. Authorities are withholding the driver's identity pending notification of next of kin. No other injuries were reported.
The New Jersey Turnpike Authority said the fire was extinguished around 9 a.m. At about 11 a.m., all lanes reopened except the right lane on the northbound inner roadway and the ramp from the Interchange 12 toll plaza to the northbound inner roadway. Those remaining closures were lifted before 1:30 p.m., and all lanes have since reopened.
