Parkway crashes within 15 minutes kill 2 people

Two people were killed Monday morning in separate crashes on the Garden State Parkway, including one that was a hit-and-run.

In the first crash around 5:45 a.m. on the northbound side near Exit 156 (Route 20), a BMW X5 went off the right side of the highway, hit several trees and guardrail before re-entering the roadway, according to State Police trooper Charles Marchan. All three people in the SUV were ejected.

One person was pronounced dead at the scene and two others were hospitalized with serious injuries. Marchan did not disclose the identities of anyone involved in the crash or why the SUV went off the road.

Around 5:55 a.m., a second crash in the northbound lanes was reported near Exit 160 (Route 80) when a vehicle struck a pedestrian in the roadway and kept going, according to Marchan. A BMW 330 also heading north ran over the individual in the roadway.

That driver waited for police. Police did not provide a description of the vehicle that fled the scene.

The pedestrian was pronounced dead at the scene. Marchan did not disclose the identities of the BMW driver or the pedestrian. The reason the pedestrian was in the roadway remained under investigation.

The crashes created multi-mile delays in both directions during the Monday morning commute.

The fatalities were the 30th and 31st of the year on the Parkway in 2022, according to State Police records.

Dan Alexander is a reporter for New Jersey 101.5. You can reach him at dan.alexander@townsquaremedia.com

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