Early Monday morning a train operator was killed after colliding with a tree. The crash happened at around 6 a.m. on the New Jersey River Line Light Rail tracks in Mansfield Township, New Jersey.
42 people were on board the train when it happened. 23 of them were injured and were taken away in ambulances, while 19 were bussed away from the scene. The crash caused massive delays for NJ Transit. Gina Brown, a commuter who had to deal with a long delay, seemed less concerned about missing her train. “I think it is absolutely horrifying, I just feel terrible for the people there had to experience that.”
She continued, telling reporters that she was familiar with the operator who was killed. “She was the loveliest one…Occasionally, you get a driver who touches your life and touches your heart…She was outgoing, energetic. Every morning, she said hi to everyone.”
The name of the operator has yet to be released publicly, and everyone else involved in the incident is expected to make a full recovery.
Patrick Reding, a NJ resident who lives just behind the tracks says that trees being that close to train tracks is very dangerous. “It’s a recipe for disaster. We get a lot of high winds here because we’re exposed here, and it caved in the roof of my pickup,” he says.
Authorities are also looking into how the tree got onto the tracks.
