Of the 12 people in the van, three were ejected and 11 injured in the wreck, police said.
A Pennsylvania woman died and two men were hospitalized after they were thrown from a commuter van during a crash Thanksgiving night, police said.
The Ford commercial van flipped along Route 80 east in Mount Olive Township, N.J., about 9 p.m., New Jersey State Police Lt. Stephen Jones said today.
The woman, a 22-year-old from Pennsylvania, was taken to St. Clare’s Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead. Police are withholding her name pending notification of the family.
The driver, 45-year-old Jose Almanzar, of Scranton, told police a U-Haul-type truck cut into the left lane, forcing him to swerve to avoid a collision. The van, registered to a Wilkes-Barre-based business, went across the shoulder before hitting dirt on the left side of the road, Jones said.
The driver lost control of the van before it overturned near Exit 27, striking a guide rail on the side of the road.
The van had been traveling from Pennsylvania to New York, Jones said.
Of the 12 people in the van, three were ejected and 11 injured in the wreck, police said. The three thrown from the vehicle were not believed to have been wearing seat belts.
One of the men, Joe Crawford, 53, of Jersey City, was flown to Morristown Medical Center with head and neck injuries, police said. He was listed as stable this afternoon.
The other man, Zirkind Menachem, 28, of New York, was taken to St. Claire’s with head, neck and internal injuries, police said. He was listed in critical condition but was stable.
The rest of the individuals injured were taken to various hospitals with non-life-threatening injuries, Jones said.
Following the wreck, Almanzar remained at the scene and cooperated with investigators, willingly giving blood samples, Jones said. No charges have been filed against him, although the investigation is ongoing.