The New Jersey Turnpike was closed for more than five hours Wednesday after the fiery crash of two tractor-trailers near the Carneys Point, N.J., on-ramp, authorities said.
Turnpike Authority spokesman Joe Orlando said the highway closed after the 12:30 p.m. wreck that seriously injured one of the truckers.
The turnpike's reopening took so long because one truck, which was hauling newspaper, caught fire and the newsprint soaked up water used by firefighters to put out the fire, Orlando said. Crews had to shovel and scrape the soaked and slippery paper from the roadway, said.
The heavily traveled toll road near the New Jersey end of the Delaware Memorial Bridge reopened about 5 p.m., in time to handle the bulk of evening rush hour traffic.
The unidentified injured driver was taken by helicopter at 1:06 p.m. to an area hospital for treatment, he said. No details were available on his condition.
Through the start of rush hour traffic, Delaware's Department of Transportation used an overhead sign board to warn motorists on I-95 that the turnpike was closed.
No estimate was available of how much traffic was diverted.
