VIDEO: Tractor-trailer explosion ignites towering fire on NJ highway, driver killed

A tractor-trailer crashed and exploded on Route 3 in Clifton, N.J. , on Monday morning, killing the driver, sending smoke and flames soaring into the sky and shutting down the highway in both directions.

Video from the scene about 10 miles west of the Empire State Building showed a burning tractor-trailer on the side of the highway as the flames climbed high into the sky .

A 55-year-old man from Linden , identified as the truck driver, was found dead after the fire was doused, the Bergen Record reported.

Scorching flames burned through a wall separating the highway from a residential neighborhood, and helicopter video from WCBS showed significant damage to a home on the other side of the wall.

A New Jersey Transit bus collided with the tractor-trailer and sent it into and through the wall, authorities told WABC. The truck was carrying some type of explosive material, though its exact nature has not been determined.

The bus driver and all 29 passengers escaped unharmed, and no other vehicles were involved in the incident, WABC reported. Several homes in the area were evacuated as a precaution, and Route 3 was closed in both directions to allow firefighters to battle the blaze.

By 11 a.m., the fire had been contained, but Route 3 remained closed as crews cleaned up the scene, according to video broadcast by WCBS. Officials provided no timeline for reopening the road, which remained shut down through evening rush hour .

The cause of the crash remains under investigation. At a morning press conference, officials said the bus rear-ended the tractor-trailer, but the Passaic County Prosecutor’s Office is still investigating the incident.