Middlesex Boro Teen ID'd As Person Killed By Train

MIDDLESEX, NJ — The person who was hit and killed by an NJ Transit train at the Cedar Avenue crossing Wednesday night has been identified as a 17-year-old teen from Middlesex borough, an NJ Transit spokeswoman confirmed to Patch.

The teen was walking on the train tracks at Cedar Avenue when he was hit at 11:10 p.m. Wednesday, she said. He was hit by a Raritan Valley line train.

The Raritan Valley line and freight trains use those tracks. This is not the first fatality to occur at the problematic Cedar Avenue rail crossing, which is where the NJ Transit tracks cross over Cedar Avenue/Possumtown Road.

Earlier this month, on Jan. 3, two women were killed when an NJ Transit train hit their car directly while it was on the tracks. Both women, New Brunswick and Middlesex borough residents, were killed. Florence Obado, 73, of New Brunswick was the driver of the car. Her passenger was Susan Mazurek, 44, of Middlesex borough.

In that instance, an NJ Transit spokeswoman said their car went around a "no crossing" gate that was down, but a resident in the area said it is very easy to cars to get stuck on the asphalt in the middle of the two sets of train tracks, especially when traffic is backed up. That fatal accident happened just past 8 a.m. on a Friday.

In January 2011, a man driving a tractor trailer was killed after his trailer was hit by a Norfolk Southern freight train at that same railroad crossing, according to MyCentralJersey.

Here is a video of the Cedar Avenue railroad crossing:

Initial Patch report: NJ Transit Train Hits, Kills Pedestrian At Cedar Avenue