An NJ Transit operator died and nearly two dozen passengers were hurt in a freak accident when the train they were on hit a tree early Monday, authorities say.
The River LINE train was traveling southbound from Trenton when it hit the tree north of Roebling Station in Burlington County around 6 a.m. Of the 42 passengers aboard, 23 sustained non-life-threatening, mostly minor, injuries, officials said.
Chopper footage showed the front window of the train completely smashed, a hulking piece of wood on the tracks beside it. The train operator who died has not been identified.
Investigators haven't said if the tree fell on the train or if it was already on the tracks at the time of impact, when it was still dark.
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"I don’t think this was a case where the tree was gradually leaning over, because the track inspectors would’ve found it," said Dr. Allen Zarembski, the director of the railroad engineering and safety program at the University of Delaware. "To me, this had to be a sudden fall over. Maybe a sudden burst of wind and the roots eroded."
NJ Transit police are investigating. Gov. Phil Murphy said he had been briefed on the situation. He offered prayers to all those affected.
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River LINE service was suspended in both directions between Florence and Trenton on Monday, and NJ Transit said it would remain suspended between those stations on Tuesday. Substitute bus service was being provided.
'It was like a movie'
Norris Young, who told NBC Philadelphia 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 tree," Young said. "It was a gigantic tree on the track."
He told NBC Philadelphia's Siobhan McGirl that he saw other passengers injured -- including people shaken up, some who had open wounds and at least one passenger was taken away on a stretcher.
"It was like a movie," he said. "I'm still shaken up. Somebody lost their life."
