Was anyone hurt after Accident Snarls Traffic for Hours on NJ Turnpike?”
Traffic Accident Snarls Traffic for Hours on NJ Turnpike by KYW’s Jim Melwert A tractor trailer fire had traffic on the New Jersey Turnpike tied up for hours on Saturday. The accident happened just south of exit five in Mount Laurel, New Jersey around 12:45pm. Officials say the tractor trailer clipped the Creek Road overpass and burst into flames. All three lanes of the turnpike were closed for about an hour. At one point traffic was backed up for more than 15 miles. After about an hour police were able to open the left lane. But crews had difficulty getting the truck out from under the bridge because at one point the flames re-ignited. Because of the volume of cars stuck in the back-up, authorities closed the Turnpike at exit 7 for much of the evening. All lanes finally re-opened around 9pm. Authorities say there doesn’t appear to be any damage to the overpass. The driver of the truck suffered minor injuries.
State police say a tractor-trailer accident on the New Jersey Turnpike has caused traffic backups of several miles for much of the day in the southern part of the state. State police Sgt. Julian Castellanos says a southbound tractor-trailer carrying paper products caught fire after hitting an embankment near an overpass in Westampton at around 12:45 p.m. Fifty-six-year-old truck driver William Ivy of Bowling Green, Ky. was taken to a hospital. Castellanos says Ivy’s injuries aren’t life-threatening. Castellanos says traffic had to be detoured for several hours in both directions as engineers inspected the overpass for damage.
