A dump truck lost its load of sludge on the Garden State Parkway, leading to a crash and closure Tuesday morning.
The crash happened in the southbound lanes of the Parkway near exit 11 in Middle Township, Cape May County around 7:45 a.m.
According to New Jersey State Police, a dump truck lost control and spilled its load of sludge on the roadway. The truck just finished dredging the water in a bay in Ocean City and was traveling to Wildwood when the accident occurred.
Due to the slick surface, two cars, including a BMW, crashed into a concrete median.
Authorities say at least 12 other vehicles were damaged after driving through the sludge, which witnesses say was as slippery as ice.
"I got out of the car and there are cars crashing all over me," said Brooke Stansbury, a student who was on her way to Middle Township High School when her SUV spun out on the road.
Stansbury told NBC10 her friend, another student at Middle Township, was the driver of the BMW.
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"I looked in my rearview mirror and my best friend is crashed in back of me and I just freaked out," she said. "I got out to get my friend and picked her up and put her in my car."
Stansbury's friend was treated for neck pain at a local hospital.
As a result of the investigation and clean-up, the Parkway southbound was closed for several hours. It reopened around noon.
Drivers involved in the accident are being asked to go to the Avalon State Police Substation to file a report.
The incident remains under investigation.
