A fatal accident involving a vehicle and a deer on the Garden State Parkway closed the northbound express lanes for most of the morning commute caused major delays for several hours.

Delays on the Garden State Parkway near the Asbury toll plaza
Delays on the Garden State Parkway near the Asbury toll plaza (NJ DOT)
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The express lanes reopened around 8:30 a.m. although the left lane was still blocked

The Asbury Park Press reports a car driven by Joseph DiPadova, age 59, of Neptune struck a deer around milepost 112 of the express lanes in Holmdel just before 5:45 a.m.hit a guard rail and then a tree. He was trapped in the car for several hours and was pronounced dead at the scene.

Conditions were foggy at the time of the crash..

Police, at first, closed off access to the express lanes just past the Asbury toll plaza. As the investigation and cleanup got underway, the express lanes were closed at the accident scene, causing traffic to back up as far as exit #91 in Brick. Delays did not clear up after 10 a.m.

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