Trucker on Pike dies in crash

WASHINGTON TOWNSHIP - A trucker was killed last night when the tractor-trailer he was driving slammed into an overpass abutment along the New Jersey Turnpike, state police said.

The accident, which also involved a sport utility vehicle, forced state police to close part of the northbound side of the Turnpike for at least two hours.

The crash occurred in the northbound lanes just before 5 p.m. less than a mile north of Interchange 7A when the tractor-trailer struck the abutment for the Robbinsville-Allentown Road (Route 526) overpass.

The truck driver was pronounced dead at the scene, state police said. The name of the man was not immediately available.

The SUV - which sustained damage to its front - came to rest facing west in the right northbound lane. State police said the SUV's driver and passenger were not hurt.

Firefighters and emergency medical personnel from the Washington Township Fire Department and Hope Fire Co. of Allentown were on the scene.

State troopers still were investigating last night. No other details were available.