2 dead, 2 hurt in chain reaction involving big rig, box truck

Two people are dead and two more were hurt in a chain reaction crash involving a tractor trailer, a box truck, and two four wheelers in New Jersey on Wednesday morning. 

The accident happened on May 22nd on Route 80 near exit 66 in Hackensack, New Jersey before noon. 

According to CBS News, an SUV was heading east on Route 80 alongside a tractor trailer when the SUV struck the center median and swerved into the big rig’s lane. The semi truck then swerved and jumped the median, coming to a stop in the westbound lanes. A box truck then struck the tractor trailer and burst into flames, and a second SUV collided with the two trucks soon after. 

The box truck driver and his passenger both died in the crash. The truck driver, a 63-year-old man from Temple, Texas, and his 60-year-old passenger from Killeen, Texas, both sustained serious injuries in the crash and were taken to a nearby hospital. One person inside of the first SUV and two people inside of the second were treated for minor injuries sustained in the crash, reported ABC 7.

Traffic backups lasted until nightfall, stranding hundreds of drivers as they waited for officials to clear the wreckage and remove the load of flammable, hazardous glue that the tractor trailer was hauling at the time of the crash. 

“It was completely back up. You could see all the cars backed up. Everyone banging their horns and everything,” said Alex Burgos of Hackensack who was stuck in the traffic. 

“Saw some smoke, ran by, and, you know, a lot of accidents happen here and I saw a truck on fire,” Hackensack resident Tony Arias said. “From where I was, it was just the cars and all the flames behind it,” Arias said. “A couple of truck drivers were trying to see if anyone was hurt.”