New Jersey Turnpike Crash Injures 17 People

Three people were seriously hurt and 14 others were injured after an accident involving a bus and tractor-trailer on the New Jersey Turnpike Wednesday, state police said.

The accident, which may have involved two other trucks, happened just before noon two miles north of Exit 8A on the southbound side of the highway, police said.

The bus driver, identified as Andy Lynch, 52, of Chesapeake, Va., was extricated and airlifted from the scene, police said. State Police originally reported Lynch died in the accident, but later said he was revived at the hospital.

Lynch was in critical condition as of Wednesday night, police said.

Seven victims were treated at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, spokesman Peter Haigney said. Three of the five who arrived in fair condition were treated and released. 

Three others injured in the accident were taken to Saint Peter’s University Medical Center in New Brunswick, and four people were brought to CentraState Medical Center in Freehold, according to NJ.com. 

Traffic was snarled Wednesday after two lanes were closed after the accident, but they have since been reopened.

State police said the cause of the accident is still under investigation.

Updated at 11:30 p.m. on Aug. 24, 2011.