Crime & Safety

Livery Car Driver Has Fatal Cardiac Arrest on N.J. Turnpike

Passenger grabs the wheel from back seat and steers vehicle into sand barrels.

The quick actions of a livery car passenger prevented further tragedy after the driver of the vehicle suffered a fatal cardiac arrest on the NJ Turnpike Extension around 7:45 p.m. on Wednesday.

The driver of the 2004 Lincoln, a 47-year-old Lincoln Park man, reportedly went into cardiac arrest on the southbound ramp outside the Holland Tunnel near 14th Street and Marin Boulevard.

According to Port Authority Police, the car’s passenger, a 36-year-old male, reported seeing the driver’s head snap back, at which point the car started drifting out of control.

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The passenger told police that he was able to reach over the unconscious driver and steer the car into sand barrels near a construction site, stopping the vehicle.

Jersey City Medical Center EMS workers began auto-pulse CPR on the driver at 8 p.m. He was taken to the hospital, where he died that night.

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The Turnpike ramp remained closed for a short time due to clean up and removal, and the Lincoln was towed from the scene, according to police.

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