Garden State Parkway driver, 84, ends up crashing into house

CLIFTON — An 84-year-old woman lost control of her car on the Garden State Parkway, careened off the highway and crashed into a backyard.

It was one of two serious crashes on the Parkway on Wednesday.

A Mercury Montego driven by Ourania Aivaliotis, of Bloomfield, went off the northbound lanes near Route 46 in Clifton about 11:30 a.m. and traveled up a grass embankment, State Police said.

The sedan struck several trees branches, a metal fence and a garage on private property.

The car went across Colfax Avenue, struck a curb and a metal fence on top of a concrete retaining wall before coming to a stop against a townhouse on George Russell Way.

State Police did not disclose what caused Aivaliotis  to lose control

A witness told ABC 7 Eyewitness News that Aivaliotis was able to get herself out of the car and walk around to look at the damage.

Another neighbor told ABC 7 Eyewitness News the car at one point was riding on two side wheels before it went off the Parkway.

Aivaliotis was taken to St. Joseph's University Medical Center with minor injuries.

Serious crash causes 9-mile Parkway backup

Several hours later, a 17-year-old teenage girl from the Fords section of Woodbridge was seriously injured in a four-car crash on the southbound Garden State Parkway near the Metropark exit.

State Police said the teen was driving a Nissan Frontier, which was sideswiped by a Jeep Wrangler, causing it to overturn and hit three other vehicles around 2:25 p.m.

Three lanes on the Parkway were closed for several hours.

The teen is a student at Woodbridge High School and works for the Woodbridge Channels, the township television station that airs community events. She remained hospitalized in serious condition Thursday morning, according to police.

Contact reporter Dan Alexander at Dan.Alexander@townsquaremedia.com or via Twitter @DanAlexanderNJ