Deadly Christmas Eve Tractor Trailer Crash Claims 2 NJ Men: Police

WESTAMPTON, NJ - Two South Jersey men died in a crash with a tractor trailer on the New Jersey Turnpike on Christmas Eve, authorities said.

At around 5:16 a.m., New Jersey state troopers responded to the crash near milepost 42 in Westampton, a state police spokesman told Patch.

An initial investigation found a Freightliner tractor trailer, in an attempt to pass a Mazda, changed lanes into the center lane. At the same time, the Mazda also changed lanes into the center lane and was subsequently hit by the Freightliner, police said.

The Mazda driver, Higinio Martinez Sanchez, 30, of Bridgeton, sustained serious injuries. The Mazda’s passengers, Pedro Morales Rojas, 28, and Rolando Perez Aragon, 21, both of Bridgeton, sustained fatal injuries as a result of the crash, police said.

The Freightliner driver, Lazaro Gonzalez, 34, of Miami, Fla., sustained minor injuries.

The crash remains under investigation.