New Jersey State Police troopers respond to the scene of a car fire on Interstate 195 in Jackson on the morning of April 8. A car owned by a Freehold resident was destroyed. DAVE BENJAMIN JACKSON — While driving on Interstate 195 west in Jackson at 11:01 a.m. April 8, Freehold resident Steven Holzhauer, 50, noticed smoke coming from under the hood of his Chevy Blazer.
Holzhauer stopped his vehicle and opened the hood, which released some of the pressure, but the force knocked down the driver, according to New Jersey State Police public information officer Capt. Frank Davis.
Holzhauer was unsuccessful in his attempt to put out the fire with a bottle of water, police said
A passing state police trooper saw the vehicle on fire and summoned the Jackson First Aid Squad and the Jackson Mills Volunteer Fire Company to the scene. The fire company extinguished the blaze and the vehicle was towed off the highway.
Interstate 195 was partially closed while the firefighters battled the blaze.
Jackson Mills Fire Chief Ray Tremer said Holzhauer had purchased the vehicle a few days earlier and said it appeared as if the vehicle blew an oil line.
“The fire was fully going under the hood when we arrived, but we were able to quickly knock it down,” Tremer said, adding that the vehicle was totaled.