The following news article was posted on the web site mycentraljersey.com on 5-8-08.
From the comments posted on that web site, it seems the victim was a teenager taking a shortcut while listening to his MP3 player, and he probably did not hear the train. Train tracks are dangerous places, even for railroad employees. Everyone one railroad property needs to be fully alert for moving trains. Of course, he should not have been on the tracks in the first place.
May 8, 2008
Man struck and killed by train in Manville
By MARTIN C. BRICKETTO
STAFF WRITER
A train struck and killed a man Thursday afternoon, Somerset County Prosecutor Wayne J. Forrest said.
At about 2:50 p.m., a westbound Norfolk Southern freight train carrying a mixed load struck an individual who was trespassing on the railroad track, according to Rudy Husband, a spokesman for Norfolk Southern.
Reports indicate that the incident was either an accident or suicide and not criminal, in which case the matter would be turned over to transit authorities, Forrest said.
The railroad location where the incident took place is in Port Reading Junction, Husband said.
Further information about the man was not immediately available.