Please Scroll Down to See Forums Below 
http://www.nj.com/news/jjournal/index.ssf?/base/news-1/105283146727830.xml
Light rail train hits an 18-wheeler in Jersey City; 5 taken to hospital
Tuesday, May 13, 2003
A Hudson-Bergen Light Rail train slammed into the side of a Mack truck hauling horse manure in Jersey City's Newport section yesterday afternoon, temporarily knocking out service to four stops and sending five people to the hospital, officials said.
Following the collision, Jersey City Mayor Glenn D. Cunningham said he hoped NJ Transit would consider either installing railroad crossing gates at busy light rail crossings or posting crossing guards.
The train was crossing Sixth Street at 1:10 p.m. when it plowed into the side of the 18-wheeler, striking it at the rear of its cab and the front of its large container full of horse manure.
The truck, eastbound on Sixth Street, bent into a shallow "V" as the train's momentum drove its center about 10 feet across the roadway and into one of the steel poles supporting the train's overhead power lines.
The train's bumper slashed open the truck's fuel tank, spilling diesel fuel into the street, and the train's flexible center joint buckled under the force of the impact, causing its center set of wheels to derail.
"The truck never stopped," said Brian Talat, who operates a hot-dog stand near the Pep Boys tire service building, adjacent to the accident location. "The truck went through the red light, and then there was a loud noise."
Police issued two tickets to the truck driver, Dennis Teller, 60, of East Stroudsburg, Pa., who was driving the truck for Grinnell Trucking of Sparta, said police Sgt. Edgar Martinez.
Teller was cited for running a red light and for not having his license plate properly displayed, said Martinez.
The Jersey City Fire Department and medical technicians from the Jersey City Medical Center were on the scene in minutes, setting up a triage station in the Pep Boys parking lot to examine Teller, the train driver and about two dozen passengers.
The train driver and four passengers were taken to the Medical Center for observation and treatment of minor injures, while Teller and the remaining passengers were released, said NJ Transit spokesman Ken Miller.
Service was suspended following the accident at the Hoboken, Harsimus Cove, Newport and Harborside stations, Miller said.
NJ Transit put a shuttle bus in service to bridge those stations while light rail service was suspended, Miller said. The train was rerailed at 2:45 p.m. and after checking the tracks, service was restored at 3:15 p.m., he said.
Jersey City's light rail tracks have gates only where they cross Pacific and Virginia avenues. Miller said state Department of Transportation officials are in charge of deciding which traffic safety devices are required.
Cunningham said yesterday's accident underscores the need for more gates or crossing guards.
"It's a new system and we need to look at it," Cunningham said. "(NJ Transit officials) need to reconsider their previous decision not to have gates or guards."
But Miller said a gate would not have stopped the truck.
"This was an instance in which a red light was disregarded by a vehicle," he said.
Light rail train hits an 18-wheeler in Jersey City; 5 taken to hospital
Tuesday, May 13, 2003
A Hudson-Bergen Light Rail train slammed into the side of a Mack truck hauling horse manure in Jersey City's Newport section yesterday afternoon, temporarily knocking out service to four stops and sending five people to the hospital, officials said.
Following the collision, Jersey City Mayor Glenn D. Cunningham said he hoped NJ Transit would consider either installing railroad crossing gates at busy light rail crossings or posting crossing guards.
The train was crossing Sixth Street at 1:10 p.m. when it plowed into the side of the 18-wheeler, striking it at the rear of its cab and the front of its large container full of horse manure.
The truck, eastbound on Sixth Street, bent into a shallow "V" as the train's momentum drove its center about 10 feet across the roadway and into one of the steel poles supporting the train's overhead power lines.
The train's bumper slashed open the truck's fuel tank, spilling diesel fuel into the street, and the train's flexible center joint buckled under the force of the impact, causing its center set of wheels to derail.
"The truck never stopped," said Brian Talat, who operates a hot-dog stand near the Pep Boys tire service building, adjacent to the accident location. "The truck went through the red light, and then there was a loud noise."
Police issued two tickets to the truck driver, Dennis Teller, 60, of East Stroudsburg, Pa., who was driving the truck for Grinnell Trucking of Sparta, said police Sgt. Edgar Martinez.
Teller was cited for running a red light and for not having his license plate properly displayed, said Martinez.
The Jersey City Fire Department and medical technicians from the Jersey City Medical Center were on the scene in minutes, setting up a triage station in the Pep Boys parking lot to examine Teller, the train driver and about two dozen passengers.
The train driver and four passengers were taken to the Medical Center for observation and treatment of minor injures, while Teller and the remaining passengers were released, said NJ Transit spokesman Ken Miller.
Service was suspended following the accident at the Hoboken, Harsimus Cove, Newport and Harborside stations, Miller said.
NJ Transit put a shuttle bus in service to bridge those stations while light rail service was suspended, Miller said. The train was rerailed at 2:45 p.m. and after checking the tracks, service was restored at 3:15 p.m., he said.
Jersey City's light rail tracks have gates only where they cross Pacific and Virginia avenues. Miller said state Department of Transportation officials are in charge of deciding which traffic safety devices are required.
Cunningham said yesterday's accident underscores the need for more gates or crossing guards.
"It's a new system and we need to look at it," Cunningham said. "(NJ Transit officials) need to reconsider their previous decision not to have gates or guards."
But Miller said a gate would not have stopped the truck.
"This was an instance in which a red light was disregarded by a vehicle," he said.
