MOUNT LAUREL, N.J. – A 10-vehicle crash on the New Jersey Turnpike killed five people in one car and injured several others on Saturday afternoon.
Turnpike Authority spokesman Joe Orlando said it appeared that nine cars and a tractor-trailer were involved in the fiery crash in the turnpike's southbound lanes in Mount Laurel, considered a Philadelphia suburb. Emergency crews remained at the scene Saturday night, working to clear the crash site and redirect drivers caught in traffic delays caused by the accident.
Orlando said all those who died in the 1 p.m. crash were from one car, which burst into flames.
Another person who was seriously injured in the crash was flown to a nearby hospital.
The crash caused major traffic delays in the area and a diversion of southbound traffic on the turnpike, one of the nation's most heavily trafficked highways.
About 25 miles of southbound roadway remained closed Saturday night, while northbound vehicles were inching along as police periodically slowed traffic to accommodate southbound drivers making U-turns.
The cause of the crash was under investigation.
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