A multi-vehicle crash on Interstate 295 left debris over the road and closed the Interstate for hours Thursday morning. In the aftermath, emergency personnel say at least five people suffered injuries in the chain reaction car accident.

Authorities say that at roughly 4 a.m., a 52-year-old Lawnside man driving a Kia clipped the rear of a blue Ford van on I-295. Two people were in the van at the time, a 76-year-old Southampton man and his 71-year-old wife. The initial impact is believed to have caused the Kia to veer to the left. Other drivers saw the initial motion and reacted in an effort to avoid the collision.

A 59-year-old Pennsauken man was driving a green Ford Bronco. He was one of the nearby drivers who attempted to avoid the accident. The Bronco reportedly swerved, but ran into the blue Ford van that had originally been hit at the beginning of the chain reaction crash.

Next came a tanker truck filled with asphalt. The driver of the tanker slammed into the Bronco as the trucker tried to avoid the wreckage. The truck accident caused the tanker to overturn along the Interstate. The tanker crushed an SUV in the accident, pinning victims of the crash.

The driver of the Ford van suffered head injuries in the multi-vehicle car accident. His wife suffered shoulder injuries in the wreck. The two were taken to Crozer Keystone Health Systems in serious condition.

The driver of the Kia was critically injured and had to be airlifted from the accident scene after the accident. He was flown to Cooper University Hospital for treatment.

The tanker truck driver reportedly suffered minor injuries in the accident.

Source: Philadelphia Inquirer, "1critically injured in four vehicle crash on I-295," Aug. 11, 2011