7 Injured In N.J. Crash That Topples Pole, Gas Pump
LINDEN, N.J. (CBSNewYork) -- A multi-vehicle accident knocked down a pole and a gas pump at a service station in Linden, N.J. Saturday, leaving a total of seven people injured.
Shortly before 11 a.m., police responded to the Hess station at 731 Edgar Rd. (Routes 1 and 9) in Linden. An Acura compact car with five people inside had been headed south on the road when the driver had apparently lost control, police said.
7 Injured In N.J. Crash That Topples Pole, Gas Pump
The car hit the curb, and then slammed into a utility pole, which came crashing down, police said.
The Acura then entered the gas station, where the chain reaction continued.
"It struck one vehicle that was just entering the station, and the force of that collision then forced that vehicle into a second vehicle which was in the process of filling up with fuel," Linden police Capt. James Sarnicki told WCBS 880's Jim Smith.
The force also knocked down one of the gas pumps at the station, sending gasoline spilling onto the ground. An attendant shut off the fuel with an emergency switch.
Ultimately, the Acura came to rest on its roof.
A woman who had been inside the Acura was found on the ground, and was taken to University Hospital in Newark in critical condition, police said. Four others in the Acura were also hospitalized in unspecified conditions.
A man and woman in the other two vehicles were taken to Trinitas Hospital in Elizabeth and Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in Rahway, police said.
Police were investigating at the scene as of midday Saturday. The New Jersey State Police and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey Police were asked to stop the traffic heading onto Route 278 West from the Turnpike as the investigation continued.
Check Out These Other Stories From CBSNewYork.com:
