Police investigating chain-reaction truck crash on Turnpike

All Practice Areas

As most drivers know, there is a very big difference between experiencing car trouble while on a side street and while on the interstate. In the former, you can more than likely safely reduce your speed and take your time either pulling to the side of the road or finding a parking lot. In the latter, you must think fast and act fast, getting your car over to the side of the road as quickly and as safely as possible in order to avoid starting a traffic jam. Unfortunately, it's just not always possible to pull over while on the interstate due to the nature of the car trouble and, because of this, disaster can strike in the form of a chain-reaction crash. To illustrate, consider a serious truck accident on the New Jersey Turnpike near Hamilton this past Thursday that caused what one motorist described as the worst traffic jam he'd ever seen and, more significantly, which left one man with serious personal injuries. According to reports, at around 1 p.m. this past Thursday a pickup truck being driven by a Maryland man blew out a tire and came to a stop in the right northbound lane. At this time, a semi truck hauling a storage container came to a stop behind the stopped pickup but was struck by another semi truck shortly thereafter. The sheer force of this collision knocked the storage container off the trailer and into the roadway. As if this wasn't shocking enough, a fourth truck then struck the storage container and tipped over onto its side, blocking all lanes of northbound traffic. The driver of the second semi that knocked the storage container into the road suffered serious head injuries in the truck crash and had to be airlifted to an area hospital, where he is currently listed in critical condition. In addition, his son, who was riding in the passenger seat, was taken to the same hospital for treatment for head and leg lacerations. He is currently listed in stable condition. Fortunately, the remainder of the parties involved in the accident suffered only minor injuries. The exact cause of the accident, which caused a traffic jam several hours long, remains under investigation and law enforcement has yet to file any formal charges. Stay tuned for further developments … Please visit our website to learn more about your options if you have been injured or lost a loved one in a truck accident.   Source: The Times of Trenton, "Four men injured in crash involving four trucks on NJ Turnpike in Hamilton," Jenna Pizzi, August 8, 2013