Crime & Safety
Car Fire Shuts Down N.J. Bound Lanes on George Washington Bridge
The fire erupted around 3:40 p.m. and traffic from Washington Heights to New Jersey was brought to a halt until 4:15 p.m.
WASHINGTON HEIGHTS, NY — A car "completely engulfed in flames" caused massive backups Monday afternoon on the upper level of the George Washington Bridge, shutting down all lanes headed from Washington Heights into New Jersey.
A vehicle traveling from New York to New Jersey erupted into flames around 3:40 p.m., a Port Authority Spokesman told Patch. As emergency responders dealt with the fire all New Jersey bound lanes on the upper level of the bridge were shut down and two New York bound lanes were also closed.
The GWB Upper to NJ has all lanes closed due to a vehicle fire. [61]
— G W Bridge Alerts (@PANYNJ_GWB) December 5, 2016
The GWB Upper to NY has left two lanes closed due a vehicle fire on westbound side. [62]
— G W Bridge Alerts (@PANYNJ_GWB) December 5, 2016
By 3:55 p.m. the fire had been extinguished, but service did not resume on the bridge until around 4:15 p.m.
Find out what's happening in Washington Heights-Inwoodfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Nobody was injured during the fire, as all the car's occupants were able to escape the burning vehicle, a Port Authority spokesman told Patch.
Patch editor Daniel Hubbard contributed reporting to this article.
Find out what's happening in Washington Heights-Inwoodfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Photo by Kristine Paulus via Flickr/Creative Commons
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