The victim was a homeless man who regularly stopped in at a gas station convenience store on the northbound side looking for food, authorities said.
He tried to cross the highway carrying some breakfast in the dark when he was struck and thrown onto the southbound side shortly before 6 a.m.
Other vehicles then struck him on that side, responders said.
All of the drivers pulled over and remained at the scene, they said.
The northbound highway was closed at Ridgewood Avenue and eventually was reopened at 12:15 p.m.
The southbound side was reopened at Paramus Road at 12:40 p.m.
The Bergen County Prosecutor's Fatal Accident Investigations Unit joined Paramus police at the scene, as did the Bergen County Sheriff's Bureau of Criminal Identification, which collected evidence.
Some responders said it was the worst pedestrian crash they'd ever seen.
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