Route 78 shuts down for fatal crash Saturday in Hunterdon

A fatal accident investigation briefly closed all of westbound Route 78 in Hunterdon County Saturday morning, but most lanes had reopened by 7:30 a.m.

The right lane remained closed  between exit No. 11 for Pattenburg Road and exit No. 3 for Route 173 in Union Township.

New Jersey State Police said the road closed for a fatal accident investigation involving a Dodge Charger rear-ending a parked tractor-trailer at milepost 8.1 in Bethlehem around 6:30 a.m. The male driver of the charger died, but the driver of the tractor trailer did not suffer serious injuries, State Police said.

An overnight accident also closed several lanes of the southbound Garden State Parkway at Route 78 in Hillside; all lanes reopened around 7 a.m. State Police said that incident involved a serious, but not fatal crash.