New Jersey

4 Soldiers Hurt When Humvee Overturns on NJ Turnpike: Police

One of the victims needed to be airlifted to a hospital after the crash near East Brunswick

Four soldiers were hurt Thursday afternoon when a U.S. Army Reserve Humvee overturned on a New Jersey highway, state police said.

The military vehicle was traveling south on the New Jersey Turnpike when it flipped near mile marker 75 in East Brunswick.

Witnesses said they saw the right tire flip off the Humvee, causing it to flip over. Officials haven't confirmed that's what caused the crash, but photos at the scene corroborate the missing tire.

An Army spokesman says the soldiers were traveling from their 533rd Brigade support battalion base at Fort Totten in Bayside, Queens. 

A woman and a man were critically injured, one man was in serious condition and the condition of the fourth person was unknown, according to state police, who initially said six people were injured. 

At least one of the injured soldiers needed to be airlifted to Robert Wood Johnson Medical Center about 10 miles north, state police said.

A witness said the female soldier's leg had to be amputated at the scene as emergency responders worked to remove the soldiers. 

State police spokesman Lawrence Peele only said the woman has a severe leg injury.

Another witness snapped a photo of a fellow comrade traveling in another military vehicle trying to help a trapped reservist. Soldiers used a jack to lift the Humvee off the trapped passengers.

Chopper 4 footage from the scene shows a crumpled military vehicle on the shoulder of the six-lane roadway. Traffic was stopped on the southbound lanes as authorities responded. Roads were reopened after medical personnel cleared the scene. 

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