Woman mistakes railroad for street; cop pulls her away before locomotive smashes vehicle in Readington, police say
Hunterdon County Democrat
Published: Jul 16, 2012 6:20 PM
READINGTON TWP. — A railroad locomotive rammed in to a vehicle that was stopped on the rail crossing on Lilac Drive today, but police reported no injuries.
At about 12:40 a.m., Clinton Township police Sgt. Matthew McGill was traveling south on Lilac Drive at Stanton Station Road, just into Readington Township, when he saw a vehicle in the middle of the railroad tracks facing south, about 20 feet from the crossing.
Sarah Zangari, 40, of Washington, was standing beside the vehicle. When asked what happened, she said she was lost and mistook the railroad tracks for a road, Clinton Township police said. There were no passengers in her vehicle.
Then the railroad crossing lights began to blink and the crossing gates started to drop. Sgt. McGill saw a train approaching with its light on and horn sounding. He grabbed Zangari by the arm and escorted her off the tracks.
Seconds later, the train crashed into her vehicle and continued three-quarters of a mile down the tracks before stopping with Zangari’s vehicle still embedded into its front.
Sgt. McGill contacted Norfolk Southern Railroad and the Readington Township Police Department and turned the incident over to those agencies.
Original Post
