Incident in Newark/Orange this afternoon?

Hey guys.

First off, forgive for my lack of knowledge as far as station names are concerned.

I commute every day via the NJ turnpike/Rt. 280. On my way home today (at about 5 pm), I passed by the NJ transit station that runs parallel to rt. 280 right before the Stickles bridge. I think it is an Orange or Newark stop but I'm honestly not sure which one being as there are like 3 for each respective location.

Anyway, today when I passed the station, there was an Arrow III MU set stopped at the platform. Immediately beyond the end of the train, there were a large amount of police officers and a large blue "NJ Transit Police" tarp suspended from the edge of the platform down to the tracks. There was also a ton of people standing on an adjacent platform, and I witnessed an ALP-45 pulling into to the station at an extremely slow speed.

Anyone know what happened here? From my perspective, it seems like maybe a person on the station platform was struck and killed (based on the tarp and the large amount of police/EMS), but I've been checking the news since I got home and nothing has been mentioned as of yet.

Again, apologies for not being able to identify the specific station. I'm sure you guys know which one I'm talking about though. Thanks for any info.

http://www.nj.com/essex/index.ssf/2014/ ... cart_river" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Thank you. Guess I should have been a bit more patient and waited until somebody got the article up.
Seems like odd circumstances though. They are calling him a "trespasser." Does this mean he was actually on the tracks when he was struck, as opposed to standing on the platform and leaning too far in? Or is this just common terminology for any incident like this? Condolences to all involved.

Trespassing implies that he (or she) was actually on the tracks (at an unauthorized area, minus crossing gates and sidewalks etc) at the time of the incident. If you are on the platform, that would not be trespassing regardless if they leaned too far toward the tracks. Indeed it is very sad. It is one too many.

I see. I wonder what the individual could have been doing under/next to the high level platforms? I'm assuming that's where they were when the incident occured as the blue tarp was placed right in the middle of the station area. Very sad regardless.

F40 wrote:Trespassing implies that he (or she) was actually on the tracks (at an unauthorized area, minus crossing gates and sidewalks etc) at the time of the incident. If you are on the platform, that would not be trespassing regardless if they leaned too far toward the tracks. Indeed it is very sad. It is one too many.

As a legal matter, a trespass would be the case if any body part or object were extended beyond the edge of the platform, thus fouling the track. One does not have to set foot on property to constitute a trespass, entry into the airspace above property is sufficient. (Overflights by aircraft are exempted by a navigable airspace exemption similar to vessels on navigable waterways.) Arguably at least, even extending beyond the yellow line when the train is not yet stopped at the platform might be construed as a trespass, perhaps dependent on whether a specific NJT regulation exists versus a safety recommendation.

You make a good point about fouling the track with a body part in the air. However, the yellow line can arguably be there for safety reasons and not considered trespassing if you are not fouling the track. I know I am quoting from the UK, but new station platforms (after the Rail Safety and Standards Board wrote the rules) only require yellow lines if the speeds on the adjacent track are greater than 100 mph and that is for protection, not to delineate trespassing and the same theory can hold true here (in court, I presume you can stretch it to mean trespassing but in practically/logically, it does not seem so). Someone walking down the platform with one foot on the yellow line may be living life on the edge, but I cannot say they are trespassing. Trespassing signs are usually at the ends of the platform, not etched on the yellow safety line and it would be silly to do so because that is a passenger area.

F40 wrote:You make a good point about fouling the track with a body part in the air. However, the yellow line can arguably be there for safety reasons and not considered trespassing if you are not fouling the track. I know I am quoting from the UK, but new station platforms (after the Rail Safety and Standards Board wrote the rules) only require yellow lines if the speeds on the adjacent track are greater than 100 mph and that is for protection, not to delineate trespassing and the same theory can hold true here (in court, I presume you can stretch it to mean trespassing but in practically/logically, it does not seem so). Someone walking down the platform with one foot on the yellow line may be living life on the edge, but I cannot say they are trespassing. Trespassing signs are usually at the ends of the platform, not etched on the yellow safety line and it would be silly to do so because that is a passenger area.

That's why I said "arguably" crossing the yellow line is a trespass. One can argue either way, unless there is a dispositive NJT (or other jurisdictional entity) regulation on point. My guess is that there is not such a regulation so the yellow line infraction would not be an actual trespass. Just negligent.

Ken W2KB wrote:

F40 wrote:You make a good point about fouling the track with a body part in the air. However, the yellow line can arguably be there for safety reasons and not considered trespassing if you are not fouling the track. I know I am quoting from the UK, but new station platforms (after the Rail Safety and Standards Board wrote the rules) only require yellow lines if the speeds on the adjacent track are greater than 100 mph and that is for protection, not to delineate trespassing and the same theory can hold true here (in court, I presume you can stretch it to mean trespassing but in practically/logically, it does not seem so). Someone walking down the platform with one foot on the yellow line may be living life on the edge, but I cannot say they are trespassing. Trespassing signs are usually at the ends of the platform, not etched on the yellow safety line and it would be silly to do so because that is a passenger area.

That's why I said "arguably" crossing the yellow line is a trespass. One can argue either way, unless there is a dispositive NJT (or other jurisdictional entity) regulation on point. My guess is that there is not such a regulation so the yellow line infraction would not be an actual trespass. Just negligent.

Point taken. Though I have some background in law, I am glad I do not practice it.