At least 20 people on the train were hurt, according to authorities.
An NJ Transit operator died and nearly two dozen passengers were hurt in a freak accident when the train they were on hit a tree early Monday, authorities say.
The River LINE train was traveling southbound from Trenton when it hit the tree north of Roebling Station in Burlington County around 6 a.m. Of the 42 people aboard, 23 sustained non-life-threatening, mostly minor, injuries, officials said.
Chopper footage showed the front window of the train completely smashed, a hulking piece of wood on the tracks beside it. The train operator who died has not been identified.
NJ Transit police are investigating. Gov. Phil Murphy said he had been briefed on the situation. He offered prayers to all those affected.
River LINE service is suspended in both directions between Florence and Trenton. Substitute bus service is being provided.
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'It was like a movie'
Local
Norris Young, who told NBC10 he was a passenger in the train, said the train hit "a gigantic tree" in the morning crash.
"There was a tree on the track, I don't know if it fell on the track or if it was just laying on the track tree," Young said. "It was a gigantic tree on the track."
He told NBC10's Siobhan McGirl that he saw other passengers injured -- including people shaken up, some who had open wounds and at least one passenger was taken away on a stretcher.
"It was like a movie," he said. "I'm still shaken up. Somebody lost their life."
