A 37-year-old Pittsgrove father and his 5-year-old son died after their car slammed into a tractor-trailer in Salem County Wednesday morning, the New Jersey State Police told NBC10.
The head-on crash happened on U.S. Route 40 at Buck Road in Pittsgrove, police said.
The father -- later identified by state police as Kevin Shelton -- was taking his son Cole and his 3-year-old daughter Cassidy to the babysitter when the wreck occurred around 7, state police told NBC10's Ted Greenberg.
Authorities said that the Shelton family was trapped in their red Pontiac after the crash. Kevin and Cole died while Cassidy was medevac'd to Cooper Hospital in critical condition, cops said.
Cassidy was upgraded to stable condition Wednesday afternoon. She suffered bruises and a broken arm.
The unidentified driver of the big rig was shaken but not injured, police told NBC10.
Route 40 was closed for nearly four hours as investigators tried to figure out what caused the wreck. It was raining in the area at the time of the crash but investigators don't believe weather played a role in the wreck.
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"It seems more the driver was distracted possibly by something," said state Trooper Jason Pasqua.
A preliminary investigation by state police revealed that Shelton's red Pontiac was going westbound on Route 40 when it for some reason entered the eastbound lanes and into the path of the big rig.
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