A two-vehicle crash on the southbound New Jersey Turnpike near Exit 14 in Newark left at least one person with severe injuries Tuesday night, after rescue crews worked to free a trapped occupant from a vehicle whose fire had been extinguished before they arrived. New Jersey State Police and emergency units were called to the scene shortly after 11 p.m. following reports of the fire and a person trapped inside one of the cars.
By the time units arrived, the fire had already been extinguished, according to metrolaw.com, which reported that emergency personnel found two vehicles involved in the wreck. Crews then worked to extricate the trapped occupant, and by about 11:37 p.m. the person had been freed from the vehicle, per the same report.
The injured person was transported to University Hospital in Newark and classified as a Level 1 trauma patient, metrolaw.com reported. RLS Media similarly reported that the crash left at least one person with severe injuries, noting that firefighters had been dispatched to the southbound lanes near Exit 14 shortly after 11 p.m.
What's Still Unclear
Authorities were continuing to investigate the cause of the crash as of Wednesday, the metrolaw.com report noted. RLS Media reported that additional details about the victim's condition and whether anyone else was hurt were not immediately available, and the circumstances surrounding how the fire started have not been released.
The Exit 14 stretch of the Turnpike in Newark has seen at least one other serious crash in recent weeks. On September 24, two tractor-trailers collided on the southbound Turnpike near Exit 14 and mile marker 104.7 at about 9 p.m., according to the same metrolaw.com report on that earlier incident. In that case, emergency crews freed a trapped driver shortly before 9:30 p.m., and two people were taken to University Hospital in Newark with injuries described as non-life-threatening.
No Word Yet on Lane Closures
Neither report detailed how long the southbound lanes near Exit 14 may have been affected by Tuesday night's crash, and the extent of any traffic delays has not been confirmed. As the investigation into the cause continues, no further updates on the injured occupant's condition have been released.
