New Jersey Transit operator dead, 23 hurt after train hits tree

A train operator is dead and 23 are injured after a New Jersey Transit train hit a tree early Monday, officials say. 

A River LINE train was traveling southbound from Trenton when it struck a tree north of the Roebling Station at 6:04 a.m, NJ Transit said in a statement.

There were a total of 42 customers on board and 23 sustained mostly minor, non-life-threatening injuries, authorities said. The remaining 19 passengers were accommodated by a bus. 

NBC New York chopper footage shows a large chunk of a tree on the track and the front of the train completely smashed. 

New Jersey Transit Police are at the scene and investigating. 

River LINE service is suspended in both directions between Florence and Trenton and substitute bus service is being provided. 

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy wrote on X he was briefed on the accident “in which the light rail struck a tree on the tracks, leading to the death of the train operator and injuring passengers … Our prayers are with all affected by this tragic incident.”

Norris Young, a passenger on the train, told NBC Philadelphia the train hit a “gigantic tree.”

“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,” Young said.

He recounted witnessing passengers injured by the accident and seeing at least one person taken away on a stretcher. 

“It was like a movie,” he said. “I’m still shaken up. Somebody lost their life.”