Man Struck, Killed By NJ TRANSIT Train In New Brunswick; 3 Hurt By Flying Body Parts
NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. (CBSNewYork) -- A man was struck and killed as he leaned into the path of a NJ TRANSIT train at the New Brunswick station Tuesday afternoon.
Three others were hospitalized after they were hit by the man's flying body parts.
As CBS 2's Tracee Carrasco reported, the accident happened just before 5 p.m. Tuesday. A Penn Station-bound Northeast Corridor train hit and killed the man, according to NJ TRANSIT.
Man Struck, Killed By NJ TRANSIT Train In New Brunswick; 3 Hurt By Flying Body Parts
The man was not on the tracks. Eyewitnesses said he was leaning into the path of the train from the platform when he was struck.
The train came to a sudden stop when the man was struck. Jill Tice walked up moments afterward.
"When I got to the platform and looked down, I could see the trail marks; blood, as if somebody was dragged. And then I saw the cell phone, his hat, his gloves," she said.
Four others were struck by parts of the man's body when the train hit him. One refused medical attention, while three others were taken to Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick with non-life-threatening injuries.
"They were on stretchers -- and one guy was just, you know, laying straight, but his eyes were open. He had the neck brace on," Tice said.
As WCBS 880's Alex Silverman reported, it was a sickening scene by all accounts. Eddie Williams, who was standing at nearby, said he did not know why the man leaned off the platform.
"Really hard to say because he was leaning, and he never really left his feet," he said.
About 300 customers were on the train at the time. No one on the train was injured, NJ TRANSIT said.
The riders were later transferred onto a different train so they could continue on.
"They didn't tell us what happened," said Lola Leo of New Brunswick. "They just said an Amtrak train got delayed and stopped, and we would have to wait and we would have to wait a few more minutes. But it was pretty slow."
While investigators spent much of the evening on the platform -- frequent train passengers worried Tuesday night how an accident like this could happen.
"I have not seen someone stand that close to the train on the platform, because there is a warning sign, and common sense would tell you not to stand close to that place," Leo said.
"There's nowhere to step back from the train when you can actually feel the train pulling you in, and they need to do something about that," added Tice.
Following the accident, Northeast Corridor service was suspended between Penn Station and Trenton. Amtrak service was also affected.
Service later resumed, but was delayed for hours afterward.
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