TOMS RIVER, New Jersey — Two women were killed on Saturday night, October 24, after two vehicles struck the back of a tractor-trailer on the Garden State Parkway in Toms River, Ocean County, the New Jersey State Police said, according to 105.7 The Hawk, a Townsquare station that cited State Police Trooper Christopher Postorino.

Source: 105.7 The Hawk (Townsquare), citing New Jersey State Police

Police said a Genesis car broke down in the northbound center lane north of the Toms River toll plaza at about 9:42 p.m. A Freightliner tractor-trailer stopped behind the disabled car in the same lane. The Lakewood Scoop, which The Hawk said was first to report details of the crash, said the truck driver had parked behind the Genesis to protect it from other vehicles.

A Honda sedan driven by Caryn J. Coon, 22, of the Forked River section of Lacey Township struck the back of the truck, went off the right side of the highway and down a grass embankment, police said. Coon died from her injuries.

Moments later, a Ford SUV driven by Amanda K. McHenry, 32, of New York, New York, also struck the back of the truck, police said. Her front-seat passenger, Lauren J. Maturo, 32, of Syosset, New York, died. McHenry was taken to a hospital with serious injuries, and the tractor-trailer driver suffered minor injuries, according to Postorino. No other injuries were reported.

Lakewood Alerts, which reported from the scene area on Saturday night, said the crash happened at approximately 10 p.m. near mile marker 87, prompted a major emergency response, and that two people were pronounced dead after responders found two individuals initially reported in traumatic cardiac arrest.

Source: Lakewood Alerts

The crash was the fifth fatal crash on the Garden State Parkway in Ocean County this year, according to State Police records cited by The Hawk, which noted that trucks are permitted on the Parkway south of Exit 105 in Monmouth County. The New Jersey State Police investigation is continuing, and police have not said what led to the two vehicles striking the stopped truck.