Two Seriously Injured in New Jersey at Non-Gated Conrail Crossing
(Barrington, New Jersey – August 18, 2016)
A man and a woman, neither of whom were identified by name or relationship, were admitted to Cooper University Hospital in Camden County, NJ in serious condition after the Mercedes-Benz they were in was struck atthe non-gated road/rail intersection of ConRail Railroad tracks and Clements Bridge Road. This collision occurred at about 1:15 P.M., EDT Thursday. Both occupants had to extricated from the wreckage of the vehicle by firefighters.
ConRail, which still exists as both a corporation and operating railroad, operates at least two trains across Clements Bridge Road daily at a maximum allowable speed of 25 mph. The movement of the single locomotive which was unattached to a train was not among those counted.
Reporter Rebecca Everett of New Jersey Advanced Media quoted ConRail spokeswoman Jocelyn Hill as claiming that railroad police had determined that the flashing lights at the crossing were working, but that “There is no gate to prevent drivers from crossing the tracks when a train is coming.”
According to records kept by the Federal Railroad Administration, Thursday’s collision was the sixth accident to occur at that crossing and the second to cause injury to any travelers on highway.
