First responders from Haddonfield and Cherry Hill closed down the station for several hours Monday night. Details are scarce. This is a developing story.
By Matt Skoufalos | May 13, 2024
A worker descends a ladder onto the Speedline tracks at the Haddonfield PATCO station. Credit: Matt Skoufalos.
UPDATED (Tuesday, May 14, 2024 – 9:30 a.m.)
PATCO Speedline passengers say their train hit someone on the tracks near the Haddonfield station Monday night.
Firefighters and EMTs from Haddonfield and Cherry Hill closed down the Haddonfield PATCO station for more than two hours while they cleared the tracks.
The only official word from Haddonfield first responders is that both the borough police and fire departments are assisting Delaware River Port Authority (DRPA) Police with an incident at the station.
On Tuesday morning, DRPA spokesperson Mike Williams confirmed that “an individual fell into the track area at Haddonfield Station and was fatally struck by an ongoing eastbound train.”
Eyewitnesses who were riding the train at the time say they saw and felt the crash.
Damont Lewis of Clementon was in the first car, seated behind the conductor, looking out the window.
“I couldn’t see clearly but there was a dark figure on the track,” Lewis said.
The next thing he recalled is the engineer screaming, “Oh no!” and slamming on the brakes.
“I felt all his grief in that moment,” Lewis said. “I knew immediately what it was by [the engineer’s] reaction.
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Kiesha Shepard of Philadelphia said she was riding in the fourth and final car of the train as it approached the Haddonfield station around 10 p.m. when she felt the crash.
“The train was going, about to stop,” Shepard said. “I just heard the brakes and a big bump,” she said.
Passengers disembarked shortly thereafter, but waited another 90 minutes or longer until another train was dispatched to help them get on with their commutes.
The investigation is ongoing, and anyone with more information is asked to call DRPA Police at 856-968-3301.
This is a developing story. Stick with NJ Pen for updates.
