UPDATED: Serious Accident in Bernardsville Closes Route 202

Route 202 is closed as of Wednesday afternoon due to a serious motor vehicle accident earlier in the morning involving a cement truck and two passenger vehicles at Route 202 and Whitenack Road in Bernardsville, borough police said. The accident was reported shortly after 10 a.m. and the road could remain closed into the evening, police said.

Bernardsville Police Chief Kevin Valentine initially said the state highway could remain closed until 5 p.m. for cleanup and investigation of the accident scene, but a later official release revised the time until evening hours.

The release said significant delays can be expected for school buses within the Somerset Hills school district.

Two drivers had to be extricated from their vehicles by rescue personnel and were flown by state police helicopter to Morristown Medical Center for treatment of her injuries, Valentine said. A third person, who was able to escape from her vehicle, also was transported to Morristown Memorial Hospital for treatment of unspecified injuries, he said in the afternoon.

Whitenack Road has been closed at the Bernards Township border with Bernardsville since about 10:10 a.m., according to

Bernards police said they don't know how long that section of Whitenack Road road would be closed, but said it also could be closed until Wednesday evening.

The Bernardsville Police Department and the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office Collision Analysis Reconstruction Team to investigate the 10:08 a.m. motor vehicle accident on Route 202 at the intersection of Whitenack Road in Bernardsville, according to a release issued by Valentine shortly before 2:30 p.m.

Police at the scene report that the accident involved three vehicles including a large commercial truck and two passenger vehicles, the Bernardsville release said.

"The drivers of one passenger vehicle and the truck were both trapped in their vehicles and had to be extricated by emergency workers at the scene," the release said.

Police from Bernardsville, Far Hills and Bernards Township assisted at the scene, along with rescue units from the Bernardsville Fire Dept and First Aid Squad, the Basking Ridge Fire Co., the Far Hills-Bedminster Fire Department, the first aid squad and fire department from Peapack-Gladstone and the fire department from Morristown, according to Bernardsville police.

Bernardsville police said the investigation is continuing. Patch will continue to update the story as additional information is available.