A Georgia man was critically injured early Tuesday morning in a crash that shut down two northbound lanes of the New Jersey Turnpike
for several hours.
The crash involving a Honda Civic, a box truck and a tractor-trailer was reported at approximately 8:30 a.m. in Elizabeth, near mile marker 101.7, according to police.
Police said the 49-year-old Georgia driver of the tractor trailer rear-ended the box truck, driven by a 37-year-old Maryland man. The two vehicles then struck a Honda Civic driven by a 20-year-old NY man.
The chain reaction crash ultimately sent the tractor trailer and box truck into the guard rail.
The driver of the tractor trailer, later identified as Benjamin Pardo, 49, of Covington Georgia, was transported to an area hospital, where he is listed in serious condition, according to police.
The drivers of the box truck and Honda Civic suffered minor injuries, police added.
The cause of the crash remains under investigation.
Left two lanes were shutdown for approximately five hours but have since been reopened.