By: Richard L. Smith
Jersey, we all know that The Garden State Parkway is one of state’s busiest highways, but some of the driving I have personally witnessed along the Union County stretch is becoming increasingly concerning.
Traveling the Parkway regularly between Harrison and Edison, I have watched drivers speed up on other motorists, make abrupt lane changes, jump into the left lane and accelerate away as though they were on a racetrack.
And if you have any plans to travel that stretch of the Garden State Parkway between 1 a.m. and 3 a.m., let me urge you: don’t do it.
Just yesterday, I observed a motorcyclist traveling south on the Parkway at what appeared to be a dangerously high rate of speed, weaving through traffic without wearing a helmet.
Being clear, those observations are not being connected to two crashes that occurred near the same section of the Parkway this weekend.
New Jersey State Police have not determined that speeding or reckless driving caused either collision, and both remain under investigation. But the incidents bring renewed attention to safety along this heavily traveled corridor.
According to a statement released by New Jersey State Police, troopers responded at approximately 11:48 p.m. to a serious multi-vehicle crash on the northbound Parkway near milepost 139.2 in Cranford.
State Police said Mr. Nicholas J. McLean, 19, of Hillside, was driving a Mercedes-Benz with a juvenile passenger when his vehicle struck the rear of a Kia SUV.
NJ State Police said impact triggered a series of collisions involving several vehicles. The Kia spun and struck an Acura SUV, while McLean’s Mercedes continued forward and collided with a Toyota.
Police told RLS Media the Toyota left the roadway and overturned, while the Mercedes traveled off the right side of the highway and struck two trees.
During the chain-reaction crash, the driver of another Mercedes attempted to avoid the collisions by changing lanes and subsequently collided with an Acura SUV.
NJ State Police said the juvenile passenger in McLean’s vehicle was ejected and suffered fatal injuries. RLS Media has learned from the Hillside community that the victim was ‘Amari’ McNair, a Hillside High School student.
McLean suffered serious injuries and was transported to an area hospital. Several other drivers suffered minor injuries, state police said.
Less than. 24-hours earlier State Police responded to another multi-vehicle crash on the southbound Parkway at milepost 139.1 — essentially the same area.
That collision involved a Ford van, Honda SUV, Acura, Toyota and Infiniti SUV. Following the initial impact, the Ford struck a guardrail and overturned. Its driver suffered minor injuries.
Again, State Police have not announced what caused either crash.
Regardless of what investigators ultimately determine in these particular crashes, aggressive driving, excessive speed and dangerous lane changes can put everyone sharing the highway at risk.
For those of us traveling this section of the Parkway every day, it's getting serious, scary and NASCAR out on that stretch of the Parkway.
Be careful, Jersey.