UPDATE: A brake fire spread to a tractor-trailer loaded with watermelons, cantaloupes and other fresh produce, igniting a blaze that closed Route 17 in Paramus during this morning’s rush.
The tractor caught fire just after 6:30 a.m. between Kalisa Way and A&S Drive near the Home Depot, Paramus Police Chief Kenneth Ehrenberg said. Flames quickly spread, the chief said.
Sandra Castiblanco, 38, of Miami, FL, who was driving the 2005 Freightliner owned by Global Enterprises, wasn’t injured.
Northbound Route 17 was closed until about 7:30 a.m., when the left lane was reopened. It remained that way past 11 a.m.
The highway’s southbound left lane was closed until 7:15.
The entire highway was expected to be reopened by 2 o’clock, Ehrenberg said.
Paramus Police, New Jersey State Police and NJ DOT were at the scene.
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