(NEW YORK) — Two people are dead and 17 others are injured after a bus overturned on the New Jersey Turnpike, according to state police.
The fatal accident took place Tuesday around 6:53 p.m. on the southbound Turnpike just before the Grover Cleveland Service Area, when a double-decker bus overturned and came to a stop on the entrance ramp to the service area, New Jersey State Police Sgt. Lawrence Peele told reporters Tuesday night. Fourteen passengers sustained non-life-threatening injuries, the driver and two passengers were seriously injured and four passengers sustained no injuries, police said.
During the collision, the bus hit a Ford F-150 pickup truck, Peele said. No one in the truck was injured.
Police have identified Cheryl Johnson, 59, and Cecilia Kiyanitza, 66, as the two people killed in the crash.
The bus in the accident is a Megabus. The company told ABC News New York station WABC there were 19 passengers and a driver on board from New York to Philadelphia. It did not provide additional details.
State police are still looking into the crash, but a preliminary investigation revealed that the bus driver, a 56-year-old male, lost control of the bus and hit the Ford.
The entrance ramp near the crash has reopened, N.J. State Police told ABC News.
The service area is located in Woodbridge, about 22 miles outside of New York City.
ABC News’ Teddy Grant contributed to this report.
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