A mother and her daughter are dead after their car slammed into a pickup truck on the Garden State Parkway Saturday afternoon.
Police say 45-year-old Naoma Johnson was driving a Saturn while her mother, 70-year-old Frances Hill, was in the front passenger seat. Police also say a 14-year-old boy and 14-year-old girl were sitting in the backseats.
The Saturn was traveling southbound in the right lane of the Parkway while a Ford Pickup truck was in the center lane near mile 63.6 in Stafford Township, Ocean County around 2:45 p.m. Suddenly Johnson somehow lost control of her vehicle and swerved into the center lane, crashing into the pickup truck, according to investigators.
Both Johnson and Hill were pronounced dead at the scene. Police also say six other people, including the two teens and two other children, suffered non-life-threatening injuries.
Authorities closed the southbound lanes for part of the afternoon to allow a medevac helicopter to land and transport the victims by air. They were transported to Southern Ocean County Hospital in Manahawkin, N.J. for observation, according to police.
One lane remained closed for several hours after the crash while police investigated, leading to major traffic delays throughout the evening. All lanes later reopened around midnight.