By DUSTIN RACIOPPI
A 40-year-old Scotch Plains man was hit by a New York-bound train in Red Bank this afternoon, police said.
The man, whose name is being withheld pending notification of his family, was taken to Jersey Shore Medical Center in Neptune to be treated for a serious head injury, said Red Bank Captain Darren McConnell.
Borough police received a call at 1:09p that a northbound New Jersey Transit train struck the man, but the details of how exactly it happened are still under investigation, McConnell says.
“From what we’re getting, it looks like a guy was walking on the east side of the platform. He had a bag of some sort and the northbound train came by and caught the bag and knocked him down to the ground,” McConnell said.
NJT Spokesman Dan Stessel said initial investigation shows that the man may have walked into the train. He’s unsure if the train was slowing to a stop at the Red Bank station or leaving when the accident occurred.
“Obviously the crew of the train had no idea the incident happened,” he said.
The train, No. 3248, left Long Branch at 12:55p and arrived in Red Bank at 1:07p, Stessel said. It was scheduled to arrive at 1:33p 2:33p in New York.
NJT is investigating the accident.
