3 killed after truck smashes into van on NJ highway, leading to fiery scene

Three people were killed in a horrific crash between a flatbed truck and a van along a New Jersey highway, according to officials, in a collision so fierce that it caused a fireball to shoot up into the sky.

A tractor trailer struck a van at the intersection of Route 1 and Ridge Road in South Brunswick just after 9:30 a.m. Friday, according to the Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office. The van then smashed into two other vehicles before bursting into flames. The truck caught fire as well, the prosecutor's office said.

Three people inside the van were pronounced dead at the scene, according to officials. Community Options, a Princeton-based disability services organization, confirmed that two of the victims were adults with disabilities, while the third was the van driver.

It wasn't clear what led up to the deadly crash. The tractor trailer was hauling a massive wall at the time of the collision. The truck driver managed to escape the flames alive, but the truck itself was burned into the concrete.

"It’s ugly. When I looked over there and saw the hood, I thought 'Where the rest of the car?'" said Ed Ramsey, who works for the same company and raced over to the scene.

The crash shut down the roadway for hours, and was expected to remain that way for much of Friday evening. Crews were working to get a crane to the scene in order to remove the truck.

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The debris field stretched for 200 yards. Investigators have not identified any of the victims, though a law enforcement source said the victims were in their 20s.

An investigation is ongoing.