An afternoon drive took a terrifying turn in South Brunswick, New Jersey, this week when an 82-year-old woman’s car was struck by a freight train. The incident, a chilling reminder of the power and unforgiving nature of railways, left onlookers stunned and emergency services scrambling.
The woman reportedly stopped her vehicle near the tracks Wednesday afternoon, alerted by flashing warning lights indicating an approaching train. Tragically, she hadn’t fully realized her car was *on* the tracks when she halted, a miscalculation with potentially devastating consequences.
What followed was a harrowing ordeal. The CSX locomotive, unable to stop immediately, relentlessly pushed the woman’s car an astonishing quarter of a mile down the line. The sheer force of the impact twisted metal and shattered glass, a scene captured in stark photographs released by local police.
Against all odds, the woman survived. Emerging from the wreckage, she sustained only a minor leg injury – a miracle considering the circumstances. Paramedics swiftly transported her to a nearby hospital for evaluation and treatment.
Images from the South Brunswick Police Department painted a grim picture: a gray sedan, completely perpendicular to the tracks, directly in the path of the massive locomotive. The scene underscored the immense power involved and the fragility of human life.
The impact forced a complete closure of Route 535 in both directions for several hours, creating significant traffic disruptions as authorities investigated the cause of the incident and cleared the debris. The investigation continues, seeking to understand the sequence of events that led to this near-tragedy.
