1 woman killed by NJ Transit train in Morristown, NJ after she fell backwards onto the tracks

June 27, 2015 by Kevin Coughlin

A Mendham woman was killed early on Saturday when she fell in front of an eastbound train at the Morristown train station, a spokeswoman for NJ Transit said.

Sherylynn Barta, 47, was pronounced dead at the scene of the 2 am collision, said Penelope Bassett of the transit agency.

A Mendham woman was killed after authorities say she stumbled in front of an eastbound train at the Morristown train station. File photo by Kevin Coughlin

The train engineer saw the woman “stumbling backwards,” falling into the train’s path. He sounded the horn and applied the brakes, but could not avert the fatal collision, Bassett said.

It is being ruled as an accident, she said.

Barta was with someone at the time, a male. Bassett did not have his name.
NJ Transit police investigated the incident, with assistance from the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office and Morristown police.

No passengers were aboard the train that struck Barta. A westbound train to Dover was delayed for about an hour during the police investigation.