A tractor-trailer truck driver has been pronounced dead following an explosion that produced “multiple fireballs” on a New Jersey highway.
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According to ABC 7, The devastating explosion occurred on Route 3 between Route 46 and Grove Street in Clifton shortly after 9 a.m. on Monday, July 22.
Clifton Fire Department Acting Chief Daniel Collins revealed to the media outlet that the explosion was caused by the truck driver colliding with a New Jersey Transit bus. The collision’s impact caused the truck to crash through the sound barrier and into the backyard of several houses.
🚨#WATCH: As a tractor-trailer truck carrying explosive and hazardous chemicals crashed into a barrier wall and exploded that forced evacuation of nearby homes⁰
— R A W S A L E R T S (@rawsalerts) July 22, 2024
📌#Clifton | #NewJersey
Watch as numerous emergency personnel, along with Hazmat, respond to a major tractor-trailer… pic.twitter.com/rzcFMdSLBc
Following the explosion, the truck driver, who was only identified as a 55-year-old man from Linden, N.J. was found dead inside the vehicle.
The truck allegedly had signs stating it was carrying a corrosive. However, it has yet to be determined what type of chemical it was. “The truck had placards on it, from the best that we could determine,” Chief Collins said. “That said it was carrying corrosive and explosive chemicals.”
The explosion was so big that homes on Normandy Road experienced some damage, including melted vinyl siding. The fire also went into storm drains and the backyards of some of the homes. However, no structural damage was reported.
Clifton City Manager, Dominick Villano, also told NJ.com that none of the 29 passengers who were on the New Jersey Transit bus were injured.
All lanes were closed in both directions on a stretch of Route 3 near Grove Street until about 6 p.m.
Route 3 was completely reopened on Tuesday, July 23, following overnight repairs paving the damaged parts of the road. The guardrail was replaced and a new fencing and construction barrier was installed.
Witnesses Recall the Intense and Devastating Truck Explosion
Meanwhile, Clifton resident, Mary Ann Zimmerman stated she felt the truck explosion from inside her home, which was close to Route 3.
“I felt three explosions in my house,” she told ABC 7. “I thought it might have been an earthquake again.”
Another Clifton resident, Anup Patel, stated, “There were actually multiple fireballs. It wasn’t just one big one.”
“If we didn’t have that wall, it would have definitely been on our neighbor’s – our friend’s backyard,” fellow Clifton resident, Suvi Patel noted. “Thank God that wall was there.”
New Jersey Transit passenger Tom Ostendorp was on the bus when the accident happened. “I kind of just thank God that the bus kept going forward. Because if we hadn’t, and we were adjacent to the truck, could be a different story,”