A dozen people were injured and thousands of commuters were delayed on the eve of July Fourth as a garbage truck flipped over a stone wall outside one of two tunnels connecting New Jersey with New York Wednesday.
Cars were rerouted and buses were delayed for hours as the injured were taken to three local hospitals.
Video posted on the internet showed several men rush up to the overturned orange Union City Department of Public Works truck after it fell from a street above after colliding with a bus and five vehicles. It came to rest on an embankment on the New Jersey side of the Lincoln Tunnel.
Although initial reports were that one individual was critically injured, all 12 were listed in stable condition by early evening.
Raymond Worrall, a spokesman with the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office, said the accident was under investigation.
Initially, most New Jersey-bound vehicles were held at the tunnel as crews worked to clear the truck. Traffic was permitted to flow into Manhattan.
Bus service from a major New York City hub, the Port Authority Bus Terminal, was initially suspended but later resumed.
For several hours, cars were being diverted to the Holland Tunnel and the George Washington Bridge, causing widespread delays on Manhattan’s West Side.
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This story has been updated to delete an incorrect reference to traffic toward the tunnel being held.