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The family of the train operator that was killed when a New Jersey Transit River Line train struck a tree in Mansfield Township early Monday have announced that they plan to bring a lawsuit against the transit company, state officials and others following her death.
The crash also injured at least 23 passengers on the morning train traveling through Burlington County on Oct. 14, 2024.
In documents released late Monday night, Kila Baldwin, with Philadelphia-based Anapol Weiss alerted officials with the state of New Jersey, NJ Transit, the Southern New Jersey Rail Group, Alstom Transportation, Burlington County’s Board of Commissioners and the Township on Mansfield that the family of train operator Jessica Haley planned to take legal action.
State officials have not yet confirmed the identify of the train operator that was killed on Monday.
But, according to documents shared by the law firm, Haley — a 41-year-old mother of three young boys from Levittown, Pennsylvania — was killed as she operated an NJ Transit train on the River Line, headed southbound from Trenton at Roebling Station.
Officials have not yet determined how the tree caused the crash — whether it was on the tracks or fell onto the train.
Haley was employed by Alstom Transportation — who contracted with NJ Transit — for 20 years, her family’s attorneys claim.
On Tuesday, in a statement on the pending lawsuit, Haley’s attorney said that the fallen train operator’s sister, Rebecca, who also works for Alstom Transportation, claims conductors on the River Line trains have “complained for years” about concerns of trees on tracks.
“Jessica Haley’s two sisters, including Rebecca Haley, who will be the administratrix of Jessica’s estate, also worked as train conductors on the New Jersey River Line, for Alstom, which contracts with New Jersey Transit,” attorney Kila Baldwin said. “Rebecca Haley reports that the trees along this section of the New Jersey River Line were troublesome for years and other trains had hit downed trees in recent years. The train conductors complained for years that something had to be done and even suggested having a track car go down the southbound track where Jessica was killed in advance of any passenger cars traveling that way. At one point, dangerous trees along the railway were marked with X’s, but never taken down. There had been a landslide in that same area recently, and a small retaining wall was put up in one section to prevent debris from falling on the tracks, but many sections of the track, including the one where Jessica was killed, had no protection.”
The documents do not provide a total amount that the family is seeking in compensation following Haley’s death, but they note that “the amount for pain and suffering is not presently ascertainable.”
An NJ Transit spokesperson said Tuesday that the agency declined to comment on pending litigation.
An investigation into the crash, officials have said, was ongoing.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) was also investigating the crash.
