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Malcom Cope, 55, of Douglas, Georgia, and Van Huston, 56, of Jamaica, New York, were pronounced dead after the northbound truck veered off the turnpike, struck a guard rail and slammed into a concrete bridge support near milepost 60.3, state troopers said.
Cope was the driver and Huston was a passenger.
A Peterbilt tractor pulling a semi-trailer loaded with watermelons was heading north in the inner lanes when it ran off the road to the right in Robbinsville at 9:22 p.m. on Thursday, New Jersey Police Sgt. Philip Curry said.
The driver and passenger were both ejected and killed, Curry said.
Photos by midjerseynews show a mangled vehicle and traffic halted at the scene.
The right lane of the northbound inner roadway was closed for about six hours and the north outer roadway was closed prior to the crash for construction.
Moderate traffic congestion resulted. The crash remains under investigation and there was no further information as of Friday morning.
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