🚨 A tractor-trailer overturned onto a Chevrolet sedan on Route 78 Tuesday morning.🚨 Two women inside the car were killed in the crash near Newark Liberty Airport.🚨 The crash shut down local and express lanes for several hours.

 

NEWARK — Two women were killed in a horrific crash on Route 78 near Newark Liberty International Airport Tuesday morning after a tractor-trailer overturned onto their car.

The driver of a tractor-trailer hauling a utility trailer was heading east in the local lanes between Exits 56 and 57 when he lost control during an “evasive steering maneuver” around 9 a.m., according to State Police Sgt. Jeffrey Lebron. The truck overturned into the express lanes and landed on a Chevrolet sedan.

The driver of the car, Ayesha Wright, 42, and her passenger Kendra Rouse, 25, were both killed. The driver of the truck suffered minor injuries.

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The driver of the car, Ayesha Wright, 42, and Kendra Rouse, 25, were both killed. The driver of the truck suffered minor injuries.

New Jersey Traffic’s Bob Williams said it was one of the worst crashes he has seen

“It looked horrific. I’ve seen tractor-trailers and trucks involved in crashes but this truck was completely on top of the car,” Williams said.

Lanes were closed in both the local and express lanes on Route 78 over the course of several hours.

The crash was the 25th fatal crash in Essex County and the second on Route 78 in 2026, according to State Police records.

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