A person was struck and killed by an NJ Transit train at Plainfield station early Friday morning, halting Raritan Valley Line service in both directions as police opened an investigation. Train 5406 struck the individual, described as a trespasser, at approximately 5:40 a.m., and the crew and 40 customers aboard reported no injuries.
According to ABC7 New York, Train 5406 had departed Raritan at 5:09 a.m. and was scheduled to arrive at Newark Penn Station at 6:08 a.m. before the fatal strike happened in Plainfield. New Jersey Transit police are leading the investigation into the incident, the station reports.
Service Suspended, Then Restored Amid Delays
Raritan Valley Line service was suspended in both directions following the fatality, per the same account, before resuming in both directions. Raritan Valley Line riders faced delays of up to 45 minutes while police investigated the scene, a disruption that rippled through the morning commute for passengers heading toward Newark and beyond.
The Raritan Valley Line suspension in both directions, followed by service resuming with delays of up to 45 minutes, echoes past NJ Transit fatalities elsewhere in the state. In January 2018, 24-year-old Emmanuel Laboy of Fanwood was struck and killed near Elizabeth by Northeast Corridor Train 7883, which had left New York Penn Station at 10:57 p.m. bound for Trenton, according to Patch. None of the roughly 600 passengers or crew aboard that train were hurt.
Similar Incidents Have Left Crews and Riders Unharmed
A separate case near Maplewood Station also fits the pattern: NJ Transit identified the woman killed there as 45-year-old Kara Beloreshka of Springfield, according to Village Green NJ. That strike happened around 10 p.m. and briefly suspended service in both directions between Maplewood and East Orange, with none of the train's 175 passengers or crew members injured.
In Friday's Plainfield incident, no details about the victim's identity, age, or hometown have been released, and the circumstances that put the person on or near the tracks remain unknown beyond their characterization as a trespasser. No official statement from NJ Transit or its police force has been issued describing what led up to the strike, and no findings on fault or any legal action have been announced. Commuters on the Raritan Valley Line should expect the possibility of continued residual delays as the investigation proceeds.
