The multi-vehicle Route 287 crash that left three people dead and 11 injured — and that killed multiple cows — was a tragic chain reaction, according to State Police.

New Jersey State Police said a Dodge pickup truck driven by Troy Chase, 43, of Pittson, Maine and passenger Peter Poland stopped on the right shoulder near exit No. 30 for North Maple Ave in Bernards Township around 10:30 p.m. to repair the trailer with cows the Dodge was pulling.

Ravi Naik, 23, of Hillsborough pulled over after his  2013 Hyundai Elantra sideswiped the trailer, State Police said. Naik got out of his car and as he walked along the shoulder back to the trailer,  a van carrying 12 passengers driven by Xu Feng Ma traveled onto the right shoulder, struck the guardrail, the cattle trailer and then the Dodge truck, State Police said.

The van continued northbound on the right shoulder and fatally struck Naik before traveling across the northbound lanes and striking the left guardrail.

A total of 19 people were involved in the accident, according to State Police; all but one was hospitalized. Two passengers in the van died at the scene.

One of the deceased from the van was not identified by State Police pending notification of next of kin, while the other person was listed by police as a "John Doe." Naik died at Morristown Medical Center where van driver Xu Feng Ma was also treated.

Injured in the crash were:
• Yupu Ma, 52, of Woodhaven, N.Y. (transported to Robert Wood Johnson Hospital)
• Erick Jiminez, 18, of Morristown, N.J. (transported to Robert Wood Johnson Hospital)
• Engleton Jiminez (transported to Robert Wood Johnson Hospital)
• Hwa Chieng, 64, of Flushing, N.Y. (transported to Morristown Medical Center)
• Tao Qing Wu, 59, of Brooklyn, N.Y. (transported to Morristown Medical Center)
• Duong Quoc, 54, of Brooklyn, N.Y.(transported to Morristown Medical Center)
• Yoxeng Tan, 55, of Brooklyn, N.Y. (transported to Robert Wood Johnson Hospital
• Huijo He, 55, of New York, N.Y. (transported to Robert Wood Johnson Hospital)
• Gudiel Jiminez, 18, of Morristown, N.J.(transported to Robert Wood Johnson Hospital)
• Kui Tung, 47, of Brooklyn, N.Y., (transported to Robert Wood Johnson Hospital)

Several cows died in the accident, while some were transported from the scene. State Police said the incident is under investigation and no charges have yet been filed.

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