At least four other occupants also were hospitalized after the crash, which occurred just before 7 p.m. along the stretch near the Route 80 and 95 merge that heads toward the Route 46 exits.
Involved were a small Land Rover, a Honda Odyssey minivan and a Dodge Durango.
Most of the injured were in the minivan, responders said.
A medical chopper was canceled, given that an ambulance was able to get the most critically injured patient, a woman, to Hackensack University Medical Center.
Click here to follow Daily Voice Mahwah-Ramsey and receive free news updates.