Exclusive Video Shows Car Struck By NJ TRANSIT Train In River Edge; 2 Injured
RIVER EDGE, N.J. (CBSNewYork) - A father and son are in serious condition after their car collided with an NJ TRANSIT train hit a car in River Edge Thursday morning.
It happened around 7:30 a.m. near New Bridge Landing.
A nearby gas station manager saw the whole thing unfold before his eyes. He gave CBS2's Tara Jakeway exclusive video of the moment the car and train collided.
The video shows the car move onto the tracks while the railroad crossing gate is down. A split second later, the front of the car is clipped by the train and it's sent 20 feet across the Hackensack Avenue crossing.
First responders had to pry the two passengers out of the car. They were taken to the hospital where they are in serious but stable condition.
"All of a sudden it stopped. We didn't get any updates while we were on the train and all of a sudden we were on there for an hour and a half," said train passenger Kaitlyn Joong. She was one of the 400 passengers on board the Pascack Valley train heading for Hoboken.
"No one knew how to get home, what to do, how to get to work. Overall, just a really chaotic experience," Joong said.
No one on the train was injured. Passengers were stuck on the train for 1-2 hours. Joong gave up and decided to work from home, but NJ TRANSIT did eventually send buses to transport stranded passengers. Full train service resumed by 10 a.m. Click here to check current status.
As to how the incident happened in the first place?
"Well, that part's under investigation. But obviously, if they went around the train track, the gate's down, that would be common sense that you shouldn't do that," said River Edge Police Lt. Mike Walker.
NJ TRANSIT are investigating why the car was on the tracks.
The father and son are at Hackensack University Medical Center.
