Hero: Good Samaritan Rescues Driver From Fiery Route 3 Wreck

UPDATE: A passing driver rescued a motorist after her Jeep barreled across a Route 17 exit ramp, slammed into the divider on eastbound Route 3 and burst into flames near the Meadowlands, authorities said.

At the scene.
Photo Credit: *MICHAEL POTAMOUSIS*

Jerry DeMarco

06/28/2021 12:03 p.m.

The 2015 Grand Cherokee hit a curb after the 42-year-old Paterson driver failed to negotiate the turn coming off southbound Route 17 just after midnight Sunday, Rutherford Police Chief John Russo said.

The Jeep careened over the grass exit median and then across all three lanes of eastbound Route 3 before smashing into the concrete barrier, knocking debris onto the highway's westbound side, Russo said.

A good Samaritan pulled the driver out after the Jeep caught fire, the chief said.

The Rutherford First-Aid Ambulance Corps took the victim to Hackensack University Medical Center with facial trauma and a cut on her right hand, Russo said.

Borough firefighters doused the blaze, he said.

Nick's Towing removed the Jeep, while a state Department of Transportation crew cleaned up the debris.

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