WASHINGTON — Predawn low-light conditions made it impossible for the operator to stop in time to avoid hitting a downed tree, the National Transportation Safety Board says in its final report on the Oct. 14, 2024, collision that killed the operator of an NJ Transit River Line light rail train.
The train’s operator was later identified as 41-year-old Jessica Haley, who worked for Alstom, the contract operator of the River Line. The NTSB had said in its preliminary report that she was killed when a tree branch penetrated the cab of the light rail vehicle [see “Tree branch that penetrated windshield …,” Trains.com, Nov. 7, 2024].
According to the NTSB report, the train was rounding a right-hand curve at track speed (65 mph) when the operator initiated emergency braking at 5:58:56 a.m. Investigators on scene determined that the braking began about 340 feet from the point of impact; a reenactment found that the tree would have become visible from 350 feet.
The NTSB investigation found that there had been four cases of trains striking downed trees prior to the accident; while they were minor, they indicated the presence of a risk. NJ Transit and Alstom subsequently completed a plan to remove tree hazards along the River Line, and the New Jersey Department of Transportation — the safety oversight agency for NJ Transit — will continue to monitor efforts to address such hazards.
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