BERNARDS TOWNSHIP, N.J. – A crash involving a car, a passenger van and a pickup hauling cows left three people dead and more than a dozen injured, New Jersey police said.

State police said the pickup’s driver had pulled over on Interstate 287 to fix his cattle trailer when it was struck by a passing car around 10:30 p.m. Saturday. Shortly after, a van carrying 13 people struck a guardrail and the pickup before hitting the driver of the car, who had pulled over and gotten out after the initial crash.

The car’s driver, Ravi Naik, 23, of Hillsborough, was killed along with two passengers in the van, police said. The names of the deceased passengers were not released, pending notification of family.

The driver of the pickup, Troy Chase of Pittston, Maine, was treated at a hospital for minor injuries. The van’s driver and the 10 other passengers were all being treated for undisclosed injuries that were not considered life-threatening.

Several cattle were also killed, police said.

Police said most of the people in the van were from the New York City area, but it’s not clear if that’s where the van was headed at the time of the crash.

The crash happened in Bernards Township, about 30 miles west of New York City. The interstate was closed for several hours while police investigated.


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