Woman dies after truck hits her disabled car on NJ Turnpike
A woman whose car was broken down in a travel lane on the New Jersey Turnpike was struck and killed early Friday morning by a tractor-trailer.
State Police Sgt. Alejandro Goez said the tractor-trailer, a tanker truck and a bobtail were traveling north in the outer lanes north of Exit 13 around 2:20 a.m. and came upon a disabled Hyundai Elantra in a travel lane.
The tractor-trailer struck the Elantra, which then hit the other two trucks. The impact caused the tractor-trailer to overturn.
The driver of the Hyundai, Zadira Reyes, 32, of North Bergen, was pronounced dead at the scene.
The driver of the truck was hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries while the other drivers were not injured.
Video of the overturn shows a small fire under the cab of the truck.
The road was wet and it was raining at the time of the crash.
Investigation causes delays
The investigation of the crash impacted the Friday morning commute with a 16-mile delay from Exit 9 in East Brunswick to the crash scene. Only one lane was open on the outer lanes with a rubbernecking delay in the car lanes.
It was the 33rd fatal crash on the Turnpike in 2022 and the first in Union County, according to State Police statistics.
Dan Alexander is a reporter for New Jersey 101.5. You can reach him at dan.alexander@townsquaremedia.com
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