New Jersey Turnpike smog accident

The New Jersey Turnpike smog accident was a series of roadway accidents that occurred on the New Jersey Turnpike in the town of Kearny, New Jersey, on October 23 and 24, 1973. The first collision occurred at 11:20 PM EDT on on the 23, and further accidents continued to occur until 2:45 AM the next day as cars plowed into the unseen accident ahead of them. Sixty-six vehicles were involved and nine people died as a result. Thirty-nine suffered non-fatal injuries.

The primary cause of the accident was related to a fire consisting of burning garbage, aggravated by foggy conditions.^[1] This produced an area of extremely poor visibility.

References

1. ^ Highway accident report : series of multivehicle collisions and fires under limited visibility conditions: New Jersey Turnpike, Gate 15 and U.S. Route 46, Oct. 23 and 24, 1973. National Transportation Safety Board. 1975. http://books.google.com/books?id=kLRQAAAAYAAJ. Retrieved 11 April 2011. "The National Transportation Safety Board determines that the probable cause of this series of multivehicle collisions was the penetration of vehicles into areas of severely reduced visibility due to fog and smoke, the latter occasioned by fires adjacent to the turnpike which had not been promptly extinguished. The delay in closing the affected roadways by the New Jersey State Police contributed to the number of accidents." 

External links

• 9 KILLED, 40 HURT IN CRASHES IN FOG ON PIKE IN JERSEY. New York Times, October 25, 1973.

Coordinates: 40°45′01″N 74°07′12″W / 40.7503°N 74.1199°W / 40.7503; -74.1199