The roads of New Jersey are busy every day. Millions of commuters head to work in the morning and, they hope, return home in the evening. They may never give their driving a thought, other than cursing congestion and delays, crowded out by the worries and concerns of the day’s busyness.
Wednesday proved to be a horrific reminder that the roads and highways of New Jersey possess great risk masked by the mundane sameness of driving. Six people were dead by the end of the day in a series of motor vehicle accidents involving passenger cars, semi-trucks, SUVs and a motorcycle.
Three people died in a truck accident when the driver of a large truck lost control and crashed into a Honda on I-280. The Honda was pushed by the truck into five other vehicles and exploded. Emergency personal were unable to approach the vehicle close enough to rescue the people or even identify the origin of the car.
A few hours later, during the slowdown caused by the first accident on I-280, a SUV crashed into the back of a stopped semi-truck trailer, killing one man. A third accident involved a motorcycle running into the back of another stopped tractor-trailer on I-80.
The fourth fatal accident occurred at in a construction zone on the Garden State Parkway. A car lost control, and crashed into workers, construction equipment and another vehicle. One construction worker was killed, while the second worker suffered “moderate injuries.”
With the Labor Day weekend starting for many today, these deadly accidents should serve as a stern warning to exercise increased caution, especially when near large trucks. Holiday weekends bring increased traffic and congestion and make slowdowns likely.
It is important to pay attention to traffic ahead, and begin slowing well in advance, as this also alerts driver behind that they too, should slow.
NJ.com, “Deadly day on N.J. highways, with 6 accident deaths reported,” Dan Ivers, August 28, 2014
