A tractor-trailer driver lost control and slammed into a minivan and a car along a South Jersey roadway Tuesday morning leaving the big rig off the road and the van on its side as rescuers worked to free people trapped inside the cars, said police.
The wreck happened shortly before 9 a.m. along U.S. Route 322 between Interstate 295 and Route 130 in Logan Township, Gloucester County.
As SkyForce10 hovered overhead a short time later, you could see emergency crews working on the Chrysler van, which ended up on its side. It took nearly an hour for the crews to take the roof off the van and free a man from inside -- loading him onto a stretcher and into a waiting ambulance.
Three people in total suffered non-life-threatening injuries, said Logan Township Police.
The big rig -- with extensive front-end damage -- wound up completely off the roadway in a field as did a silver sedan -- the sedan driver also needed to be freed from the car. The wreck sheared off a utility pole -- the top of it still hanging on the wires above.
The crash remained under investigation Tuesday for more than five hours as police warned motorists of delays and road closures in the area as crews work to clear the scene. Police diverted drivers onto Route 130 to detour around the scene.
Police said it appeared the 71-year-old big rig driver "inexplicably" lost control while traveling west on Route 322 then struck both the van and sedan in the eastbound lanes before taking out a pole and winding up in the farm field.
