A tanker truck that overturned on the New Jersey Turnpike and caught fire on Wednesday was carrying 8,500 gallons of gasoline from a Linden refinery, state police said Thursday.
The driver, who was killed near milepost 110 in Kearny, was believed to be a Newark man. The truck overturned on the right shoulder and caught fire, sending billowing clouds of black smoke into the sky that could be seen as far away as New York City.
The truck had swerved to avoid one of two mattresses and a box spring that had fallen from a van onto the highway.