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Woman Killed in Toll Booth Crash on Garden State Parkway

An elderly woman has died in a chain-reaction crash at a toll booth on the Garden State Parkway, state police say. 

The car was going northbound on the highway when it crashed at the Union Toll Plaza, near mile marker 142, according to police. 

Chopper 4 footage from over the scene shows several cars smashed in one toll booth lane, with one apparently spun so violently it was facing the opposite direction. The cars ahead of it in the lane had apparently been rear-ended in the chain-reaction crash.

Videos posted to social media shows one of the cars ablaze as first responders rush to help. 

Authorities said that a police officer was able to pull a woman from the burning car moments before firefighters got on scene, but she later died at a hospital.

State police identified the victim Wednesday as 83-year-old Patricia Lavelle of Neptune. 

It's not clear what caused the four-car crash, but authorities said they're investigating whether Lavelle may have had a medical emergency beforehand.

The investigation caused bumper-to-bumper traffic Tuesday afternoon.

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