A freak accident involving a fallen tree on the NJ Transit River Line resulted in the death of one person and multiple other injuries on Monday morning.
Around 6AM, a train that was heading southbound from Trenton struck a tree that came down and fell onto the tracks. The train operator lost his life in the crash.
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The accident occurred shortly before the train was to arrive at Roebling Station, the fourth stop heading south when departing from the state capital and the second stop in Burlington County.
Of the 42 people on the train at the time of the tragedy, 23 passengers were hurt with non-life-threatening injuries, according to NJ.com.
Norris Young, a train passenger, spoke with NBC 10 about the situation. He said that no one really knew if the tree was already on the ground or if it had fallen on the train because it all happened so fast. He saw someone taken off on a stretcher while others suffered cuts and wounds from the severity of the jolt.
“It was like a movie,” he told the news station. “I’m still shaken up. Somebody lost their life.”
Philadelphia’s local CBS station sent its helicopter over the scene and reported seeing a giant tree trunk underneath the front part of the train.
NJ Transit has yet to make a statement on the incident outside of traffic updates and closures on the River Line between Florence and Trenton. No details were revealed about the operator who lost their life.
