According to Patch, a wrong turn at the Midland Avenue crossing in Saddle Brook put a car on NJ Transit’s Bergen County Line for about a mile Wednesday evening. No injuries were reported.
Rail safety has been a concern along Midland Avenue before. In April 2016, a car collided with a freight train on South Midland Avenue on tracks used by the Bergen County Line; ABC7 reported no serious injuries and described the crossing as street-level, without gates or lights. Separately, NJDOT announced queue-cutter signals and other safety improvements at a Midland Avenue crossing in Elmwood Park, intended to help prevent cars from stopping on the tracks.
An NJ Transit spokesperson told Patch the car entered the tracks at about 5:35 p.m. on Nov. 11. The driver, Shapoor Ahdoot, 77, of Washington Township, stopped after traveling roughly a mile. Crews removed the car, and train service in that area was suspended while they worked.
Patch reported that Ahdoot was charged with interference with transportation and issued a summons for careless driving. New Jersey Transit police are investigating.
The interference-with-transportation charge is covered by a New Jersey law that includes purposely or knowingly disrupting, delaying or preventing the operation of a transportation vehicle. The statute generally classifies the offense as a disorderly persons offense, with more serious charges possible in specified cases involving injury, financial loss or risk of significant injury. The law’s text lists those elements and classifications; the charge is an allegation, not a finding of guilt.
