5 Killed In Crashes, Multiple People Burned In House Fire: NJ Weekend

NEW JERSEY - Five people lost their lives in multiple crashes, including one involving a New Jersey police officer, over the long President’s Day weekend.

Here's a look at the incidents reported across the Garden State over the weekend:

Multiple People Hospitalized After Being Trapped In NJ Basement Fire

Several people were hospitalized Monday morning after being trapped inside a North Jersey house fire, authorities said.

The fire was reported about 12:30 a.m. on the 800 block of Palisades Avenue in Teaneck, according to the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office.

The trapped individuals were found while firefighters were inside the home battling the fire, the prosecutor’s office said.

The injured were rushed to Hackensack University Medical Center, though it was not immediately clear how many people were hospitalized or the extent of their injuries.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

Driver In Deadly Pedestrian Hit-And-Run At Large: Police

Authorities are looking for a driver who fled the scene of a deadly hit-and-run in South Jersey Saturday night.

The crash took place just after 9 p.m. in the westbound lane of U.S. Route 30 near the Executive Lodge motel in Absecon, police said.

Police are searching for a "vehicle with heavy front-end damage, consistent with the impact with the pedestrian,” per NBC10.

Anyone who witnessed the crash or has information related to the incident is urged to contact the Absecon Police Department, Traffic Safety Unit at (609) 641-0667 ext. 214.

Head-On Collision Claims 1, Injures Another In Atlantic County

A 62-year-old driver died and a 29-year-old man was injured in a head-on crash Saturday night in Atlantic County, authorities said.

The 29-year-old driver, a Buena Vista township resident, was driving south on Route 50 about 6 p.m. when his vehicle crossed into the northbound lane and hit a pickup operated by Thomas Neyers, 62, police said. Neyers was pronounced dead at the scene.

The other driver was rushed to AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center, though the nature of his injuries weren’t immediately made clear. The crash is still under investigation.

2 Killed In Separate South Jersey Crashes

Two people died as a result of crashes in Burlington and Camden counties less than an hour apart from each other Sunday morning, according to NJ101.5.

A Volvo bobtail and a Volvo semi-trailer collided near Bordentown on the New Jersey Turnpike just before 4:30 a.m., killing the 30-year-old driver of the bobtail after the vehicle hit the barrier and became “engulfed in flames,” the outlet said.

About 30 minutes before, a 2022 Chevy Impala traveling at a high speed failed to turn in a traffic circle on Route 38 and flew over the curb, the outlet added. The vehicle hit a utility pole on the passenger’s side and hit another pole, this time on the driver’s side, splitting the vehicle in half.

The driver, whose name was not immediately released, was killed on impact, the outlet noted. The passenger was “seriously injured” and was rushed to the Cooper University Hospital trauma center.

Man Died In Crash After NJ Police Tried To Stop His Vehicle: AG

A man died in a crash Monday morning in South Jersey after police tried to pull him over, authorities said. The state Office of the Attorney General is investigating the incident.

The investigation involves a Monroe Township Police Department officer, who was on-duty and using a department vehicle during the incident, which took place about 4 a.m., the OAG said.

The officer tried to stop the man's vehicle on County Road 723 in Monroe, authorities said. Shortly after the attempted stop, the officer found that the man's vehicle had crashed on East Fleming Pike (County Road 723) in Winslow Township, according to the OAG's preliminary investigation. Read more.