Editor's Note (Oct. 15, 2024, 8:57 a.m.): An attorney representing the family of the train's operator has identified her as 41-year-old mother of three Jessica Haley and they plan to sue. Click here for updates from the day after the deadly wreck.
A fallen tree on the tracks led to a crash that killed one person -- the train operator -- and injured at least 20 more on a New Jersey Transit River Line train in Mansfield Township early Monday morning, officials said.
According to police officials, the incident happened at about 6:03 a.m. when a River Line train struck a downed tree in Mansfield, in Burlington County, New Jersey.
At least one person was killed and more than 20 others suffered minor injuries, officials said.
Get top local stories in Philly delivered to you every morning. Sign up for NBC Philadelphia's News Headlines newsletter.
Just before 9 a.m., New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy confirmed that the person who died was the operator of the train.
I have been briefed on an accident on the @NJTRANSIT_RL earlier today in which the light rail struck a tree on the tracks, leading to the death of the train operator and injuring passengers.
— Governor Phil Murphy (@GovMurphy) October 14, 2024
An investigation is underway. Our prayers are with all affected by this tragic incident.
Officials have not yet revealed the victim's identity.
Local
Breaking news and the stories that matter to your neighborhood.
Officials said 42 passengers were on the train at the time of the crash and confirmed 23 passengers were injured in this incident.
17 of those injured were treated for non-life threatening injuries.
Norris Young, who told NBC10 he was a passenger in the train, said the train hit "a gigantic tree" in the morning crash.
"There was a tree on the track, I don't know if it fell on the track or if it was just laying on the track," Young said. "It was a gigantic tree on the track."
He told NBC10's Siobhan McGirl that he saw other passengers injured -- including people shaken up, some who had open wounds and at least one passenger that was taken away on a stretcher.
“One gentleman had a gash, he was bleeding from the head. One had an open wound, a complete open wound on his head," Young said during another interview with NBC10's Yukare Nakayama.
Young was in tears as he talked about the operator, who he says he built a rapport with after seeing her every Monday and Tuesday at the station.
“And to have someone, even from that small affiliation, just ‘how you doing?’ You know, wake up in the morning, how you doing? Just you know the smile and the pleasant hello, you know in the morning, you know when you get on there, and the next time you see this person they’re just...bludgeoned," Young said. "Bludgeoned. She was just laying there and there was nothing nobody could do.”
River Line service between Florence and Trenton remained suspended throughout the day due to the crash. Substitute bus lines are currently available for customers.
A morning press update was planned, but the event was not held at the scheduled time.
Officials have not yet revealed if the tree fell on the train or if it was already on the tracks and the train struck it.
“It sounds like this was one of those very rare and very unusual circumstances,” Dr. Allan Zarembski, a University of Delaware professor and expert in railway engineering and safety, told NBC10. “Now I’ll tell you, if in fact the tree fell on the train, that’s even rarer.”
"It definitely felt like something you would see in one of them action movies," Young said. "Everything just like going in slow motion."
Dr. Zarembski said normally if an object blocks the track – such as a car – it will short a circuit which sends a warning signal to the train. But since wood is not a conductor of electricity, there was no sign during Monday's deadly crash.
“If the train driver sees the tree in front of them, he’s going at a reasonable speed. You’re going probably 50, 60 miles an hour in between stations. Usually, you cannot stop the train within safe distance," he said. “This couldn’t have been a case of a tree that sort of was hanging around for a couple of days, getting ready to fall at any moment now because the inspectors would’ve picked that up."
An investigation, officials said, is ongoing. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is also investigating.
Sign up for our Breaking newsletter to get the most urgent news stories in your inbox.
