I can imagine some spouting when the rain is coming down so hard in a hilly area like it appears to be, but that is some serious pressure forcing the water so high into the air!
I wouldn’t be to happy about driving my truck into the giant lid, but then to have the thing go off like that again while I’m standing there. Ugh! And just like the guy who drove into the toll booth @100mph in NJ, nobody stops to help!
Giving the size of the perfec circle, I would have to say that was a tunnel shaft access point most likely connected to a combined sewer or stormwater conveyance tunnel. The hydraulic balance in these types of tunnels are tricky. What you see in the video is a hydraulic surge. Of course they are not suppose to happen in the middle of a tunnel. Relief for these are suppose to be designed in to the tunnel either at the downstream end or upstream end or in the middle if designed properly. This was not. Then again, giving the amount of water all ready on the road, it must have been a significant storm and either one of the relief points were clogged or there was so much water trying to get out of the end of the pipe (due to a flooded river or something) that the water had no place else to go. Kind of like water hammer in your house pipes when you shut the water down fast.
The cop who was chasing him stops a few seconds after the impact. The gigantic fireball pretty much seals the deal that the dude isn’t gonna make it.
In case you missed it, I think this is the video wazzu was referring to. There is a shorter version of this video that stops right after the white car enters the frame, but this one shows the police Dodge Charger that was just a few cars behind. The officer does jump out to assess the situation, but I dont think there was much he/she could do. Another police car shows up from the other side of the tolls too.
You’re right though, a few cars pass through the EZ-PASS as if nothing had happened. They can’t be inconvenienced by someone dying. Welcome to New Jersey.