A chain reaction crash has left multiple people injured after police say a semi truck ran a red light in New Jersey Wednesday.
The accident occurred on the afternoon of August 22nd in Edison, New Jersey.
According to Investigators, a Racing Transport semi truck “appears to have ran a red light” on southbound Route 1 near Prince Street and crashed into a line of at least eight vehicles, causing a chain reaction crash that seriously injured one and left several others with minor injuries.
Although there have been discrepancies in reports on the number of minor injuries as well as deaths, ABC 7 Eyewitness News reported that, as of 11:20 a.m. Thursday morning, a total of nine people were known to have sustained minor injuries in the crash and one other person was critically injured, but thankfully no fatalities.
The truck driver was one of those transported to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, where he was questioned by police.
NOW: multiple injuries, 1 critical after tractor trailer lost control, plowed into 9 cars in #Edison. #abc7ny pic.twitter.com/dbtFT29T2i
— Josh Einiger (@JoshEiniger7) August 22, 2018
A mini van was the most seriously damaged in the crash, and the Jaws of Life had to be used to rescue the two teenage girls and their mother trapped inside. The two girls sustained only minor injuries, but their mother, Victoria Castignetti, was taken to a hospital in serious condition.
“From the information I got from my daughters, my wife said, ‘Oh my God,’ and that was it. It was all chaos after that… She has bleeding on the brain, a couple of rib fractures. That’s really all I know so far,” said Paul Castignetti, Victoria’s husband.
“We were all stopped at the red light, and this tractor-trailer just didn’t stop,” said witness Austin Brooks, a passenger in one of the vehicles damaged in the wreck.
“It was just a domino effect of cars, you know, spinning around, and next thing I know, I get hit really hard from behind, and then we spin out, and next thing I realize I’m facing first in the median,” he continued.
The accident is still under investigation and anyone with information is urged to call the Edison Police Department at (732) 248-7400 or Detective Don Heck of the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office at (732) 745-8842.