Fiery Route 3 Crash Claims Life Of Trapped Driver

EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ — One person was killed after being trapped in a fiery car crash on Route 3 early Friday morning in East Rutherford.

At around 3:56 a.m., officers found a three-car crash with two vehicles engulfed in flames and a driver trapped inside one of the vehicles on Route 3 west just past the ramp to Route 120, said East Rutherford Deputy Chief Phillip Taormina.

East Rutherford and Secaucus Police Officers immediately tried to get the driver out, "however, the intense flames and heat made it impossible," said Taormina.

The driver, identified as a 27-year-old woman from Garfield, succumbed to her injuries and was pronounced dead at the scene.

East Rutherford Fire Department and EMS also went to the scene and put out the fire.

East Rutherford Police Department's Detective Bureau is conducting the investigation with the help of the Bergen County Sheriff’s Department BCI.

New Jersey Department of Transportation helped with traffic control and lane closures. All lanes of Route 3 westbound near Route 120 were closed for about 5 hours to facilitate the investigation.

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