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Middlesex County · Corridor

Truck Crashes on I-287 in Middlesex County

I-287 runs from Turnpike Exit 10 in Edison north through Metuchen, Piscataway and South Plainfield. The State Police investigate crashes here, and your report comes from the NJSP portal under Non-Toll for $13, not from a town police department.

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Garces, Grabler & LeBrocq, P.C. · Edison · New Brunswick · Perth Amboy · AVAILABLE 24/7

161

reportable truck and bus crashes on I-287 in Middlesex; 2 fatal, 107 people injured

2021–2025, FMCSA crash file

154 of 161

were State Police reports; the report is $13 through the NJSP portal

2021–2025, FMCSA crash file

2

fatal crashes involving a large truck on I-287 in Middlesex, both overnight rear-end collisions in 2024

2019–2024, NHTSA FARS (2024 preliminary)

This page covers the freight role of I-287, the State Police truck scale in Piscataway, what the crash data shows, including the May 2026 fuel-tanker fire at Metuchen, and what has to happen in the first weeks. Garces, Grabler & LeBrocq, P.C. handles those steps from offices in Edison, New Brunswick and Perth Amboy.

The road and its trucks

Where it starts

I-287 begins at Turnpike Exit 10 (milepost 88.1) in Edison, at the same interchange as Route 440. Because trucks over 10,000 lb are barred from the Garden State Parkway north of Interchange 105, I-287 and the Turnpike carry the heavy traffic the Parkway cannot.

N.J.A.C. 19:9-1.9(b); New Jersey Turnpike Authority

Freight priority

NJDOT's freight management system lists I-287 northbound, mileposts 10–12, as a priority freight segment (15th statewide), along with northbound mileposts 0–2 and 8–10 in Middlesex.

NJDOT 2023 Statewide Freight Plan

State Police truck scale

The NJSP Commercial Carrier Safety Inspection Unit runs a fixed scale on I-287 northbound at milepost 9.3 in Piscataway, 732-885-1539. The same unit's troopers conduct post-crash inspections of commercial vehicles.

NJSP Commercial Carrier Safety Inspection Unit

Crashes by town

Reportable truck and bus crashes on I-287, 2021–2025: Edison 71, Piscataway 54, South Plainfield 19, Metuchen 17.

FMCSA crash file, town names merged

Stelton Road (CR 529)

Links I-287 with the industrial and warehouse areas of Piscataway and South Plainfield. The county's 2025 road safety audit calls it a 40-mph designated truck route shared with bikes and scooters, and notes a proposed 1.2-million-square-foot warehouse off New Brunswick Avenue in South Plainfield. Stelton Road had 49 reportable truck crashes in 2021–2025 (FMCSA crash file).

Middlesex County Road Safety Audits Final Report, June 30, 2025; FMCSA crash file

Recent crashes on I-287

Crashes are described by date, road, town and vehicle type only. Involving a truck does not mean the truck caused the crash.

  • May 17, 2026, I-287 northbound at milepost 1.9, Metuchen: a passenger vehicle rear-ended a tractor pulling a fuel tanker. All three vehicles burned. Two people in the passenger vehicle died. The State Police investigated; the NJ Department of Environmental Protection and Middlesex County Hazmat tracked fuel runoff. FMCSA also logs this crash, with two killed. See
    tanker and hazmat truck crashes
    .
  • June 24, 2025, Edison: a fatal crash involving a box truck (FMCSA crash file).
  • October 29, 2024, 12:48 a.m., Edison: a rear-end collision involving a tractor-trailer on an unlit section. A truck occupant died (NHTSA FARS, 2024 preliminary).
  • August 15, 2024, 8:24 p.m., Piscataway: a rear-end collision involving a medium or heavy pickup towing a trailer. One person in the other vehicle died (NHTSA FARS, 2024 preliminary).

Both fatal large-truck crashes in the 2019–2024 federal file for I-287 in Middlesex were rear-end collisions at night. That matches the county pattern: 16 of the 49 fatal large-truck crashes in Middlesex were front-to-rear, and 28 happened in the dark (NHTSA FARS).

Across 2021–2025, 2 of the 161 reportable truck and bus crashes on I-287 were fatal and 77 involved an injury, with 107 people hurt. A cargo tank was involved in 8 of them (FMCSA crash file).

Who patrols it and where the report comes from

Patrol

New Jersey State Police. Troop B patrols I-287 and the other non-toll interstates in North Jersey; its nearest listed station is Somerville Station, 790 US 22 East, Bridgewater, (908) 725-0107. NJSP investigated the May 2026 Metuchen tanker crash. Which station handles I-287 inside Middlesex is not published.

NJSP Troop B; news coverage of the May 17, 2026 crash

Your report

NJSP crash-report portal, njportal.com/njsp/crashreports, under “Non-Toll.” $13. Reports can take up to 14 business days to appear and stay downloadable for 14 days. NJSP keeps crash reports for six years.

NJSP/NJTA crash report portal, as of September 2026

Serious or fatal crashes

Photographs, statements, digital media and the Fatal Accident Investigation Unit's reconstruction are a $20 “Serious/Fatal” records request that requires a subpoena or court order. Ask for the Commercial Carrier Safety Inspection Unit's post-crash inspection report by name; it sits inside the NJSP file.

NJSP/NJTA crash report portal; NJSP CCSIU

Contacts

NJSP records: (609) 882-2000 ext. 2234, njsprecords@njsp.gov. CCSIU headquarters: (609) 452-2601 ext. 5907.

NJSP

If it was the Turnpike side of Exit 10

Troop D, and a $5 Turnpike report. See Turnpike Exits 10–12.

NJSP Troop D

If it was Stelton Road or another local street

Piscataway Police (reports on CrashDocs.org, about 5–7 days; (732) 562-2309), South Plainfield Police (CrashDocs), Edison Police (in person, 100 Municipal Boulevard) or Metuchen Police (Records 732-632-8550).

Municipal records pages, verified September 2026

What's hard to do alone

  • The Exit 10 ramp system splits agencies. Within a few hundred yards the crash can belong to Troop D on the Turnpike, NJSP on I-287 or Route 440, or Edison Police on the local roads, each with its own portal category, fee and records custodian.
  • The post-crash inspection must be asked for by name. The CCSIU report on brakes, tires, lights and out-of-service violations is part of the NJSP file but is not released with the basic report.
  • NJDOT cameras: seven days. I-287 is an NJDOT highway. Camera video must be requested electronically and received by the Department within seven calendar days, at $100 per camera for the first three hours.
  • When vehicles burn, the records are the evidence. After a fire, the State Police, DEP and County Hazmat records, and the carrier's electronic data (ELD, engine module, dashcam) become the main sources, and the carrier's logs are kept only six months.

“Our attorneys can work to preserve this material before routine deletion practices make it harder to obtain.”

Garces, Grabler & LeBrocq, P.C.

Related pages

Tanker and hazmat truck crashes

The Metuchen tanker fire, the hazmat insurance tiers, and what changes when fuel is involved.

127 cargo tanks in county crashes Read more →

Tractor-trailers

How rear-end and shoulder crashes with big rigs happen and how fault is proven.

29 of 49 fatal crashes involved a semi Read more →

Who investigates a truck crash

NJSP troops, the CCSIU, the Prosecutor's Fatal Crash Unit, and what each produces.

Read more →
Garces, Grabler & LeBrocq, P.C.

What GGL does for you here

  • Orders the NJSP non-toll report and, once suit is filed, subpoenas the serious/fatal file and the CCSIU post-crash inspection by name
  • Files the NJDOT traffic-camera request within seven calendar days
  • Requests NJSP, DEP and County Hazmat records when fuel or hazardous material was involved
  • Sends the trucking company a preservation letter for electronic logs, engine data, dashcam, maintenance and driver files
  • Identifies the responsible carrier, its insurer and the hazmat insurance tier that applies

Call Today For A Free Consultation

If you were hurt in a truck crash on I-287, call (201) 252-7848. Our attorneys can come to you. No Fee Unless GGL Wins.

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