A train crashed into a car in Emerson, Aug. 20, 2015. (Myles Ma | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)
Justin Zaremba | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
By Myles Ma | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
on August 20, 2015
EMERSON, NJ — A man in his 80s was killed Thursday morning after driving his car onto railroad tracks in Emerson, NJ Transit officials said.
The man was pronounced dead at 7:40 a.m., Jennifer Nelson, a spokeswoman for NJ Transit, said.
The Hoboken-bound train struck the man's car as he drove southbound on the tracks, Nelson said. He apparently drove onto the tracks from 1st Avenue in Westwood, a little less than a mile north of where he was struck. It's not clear why.
The car burst into flames after being struck by the train, Nelson said. The engineer kept the train moving to keep the burning vehicle away from passengers.
"He did a great job protecting people by keeping the train moving," Nelson said.
Firefighters extinguished the burning car on arrival, Emerson Police Chief Donald Rossi said. Police were looking for photos and video to determine how the car ended up on the tracks.
"There are a lot of open-ended questions that remain to be answered," he said.
Bruce Borkowski, one of the approximately 110 people on board the Hoboken-bound train, said he didn't notice the collision.
"You didn't hear anything, you didn't see anything, you didn't feel anything," he said.
The passengers were offered bus rides to Secaucus. Borkowski opted to work from home, saying he'd be late anyway.
Jose Ferreira, owner of Spring Waterproofing on Bland Street, just south of the crash, was starting his truck when he heard.
"It was a bang and then the sound of the train stopping and then the fire engines," he said.
Nelson expected service to be restored after 9:15 a.m.
Perhaps this is another suicide by train.
Elderly drivers cause many accidents. We need to force
drivers to take driving refresher courses every 5 years or more often.
Drivers must also be tested for eye-sight, hearing, drugs, etc. Many thousands
of deaths and hundreds of thousands of injuries would be prevented if we do
so. Please remember that a vehicle is a lethal weapon and only a
regularly-trained, capable and fit person should operate it.