New Jersey

School Bus Fire on Garden State Parkway Snarls Rush-Hour Traffic

A school bus carrying seven children burst into flames on the Garden State Parkway Thursday afternoon, snarling traffic on the busy highway as the evening rush was getting underway. 

It's not clear what caused the fire on the bus just before 3:30 p.m. on the southbound side of the parkway, just south of Route 78 near the Union tolls. 

All seven kids on board were safely taken off the bus and transferred to another. Their ages were not immediately known.

All lanes across the southbound side of the highway were initially closed as emergency personnel responded, but the closures are now limited to the right two lanes.

The traffic backup was stretching to Route 280, exit 145. Drivers could try New Jersey Turnpike as an alternate. 

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