Fiery Car Crash At Garden State Parkway Toll Plaza Closes Northbound Lanes
SADDLE BROOK, N.J. (CBSNewYork/AP) -- New Jersey highway officials said tolls were being waved Friday evening at the Bergen Toll Plaza after a car hit the toll plaza abutment and burst into flames.
Turnpike Authority spokesman Tom Feeney said there were no injuries reported but fire damaged the booths in two lanes and the canopy of a third.
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Three lanes of the Garden State Parkway at the northbound-only Bergen Toll Plaza are closed.
Traffic is moving slowly and Feeney is urging motorists to avoid the area or seek alternate routes.
State Police Sgt. Brian Polite said a Toyota Prius driven by 86-year-old Ralph Schiller of Fort Lee was approaching the Bergen Toll Plaza around 3:30 p.m., when it side-swiped a Honda Accord driven by Kristie Frost of Pasadena, Md.
Police said Schiller's car continued forward and struck a barrier and a toll booth, and the booth and car both caught fire.
Polite said Schiller was removed from the vehicle and taken to a nearby hospital complaining of chest pains. There were no other injuries. No charges have been filed in the ongoing investigation.
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