Bergen County Leads NJ in Train Deaths This Year

When two men were fatally struck by trains hours apart this week, NJ Transit officials indicated that the Bergen County men had likely stepped in front of speeding trains to take their own lives.

Fifteen men and women across the state are believed to have committed suicide by train this year, according to NJ Transit spokesperson William Smith. As of August 1, a third of those suicides have occurred in Bergen County — the most for any county in the state.

People are likely using trains to end their lives because they’re more readily available than guns or other violent means of suicide, according to Sue Heguy, a clinical supervisor at Care Plus in Paramus and the coordinator for the Bergen County Traumatic Loss Coalition. 

While the reasons that people choose to commit suicide by train vary, most of those deaths could be prevented, Heguy said.

"There's hope and treatment available," Heguy said. "You don't have to die by suicide."

Ninety percent of those who die by suicide are believed to have a treatable mental disorder, she said.

The most recent suicides came this week when a 26-year-old Washington Township man was hit by a train on the border of Westwood and Emerson, and a 59-year-old Fair Lawn man reportedly positioned himself in front of a commuter train Thursday morning.

Officials are still unclear as to why the men took their own lives.

The other three Bergen County suicides happened in Saddle Brook on June 20, Rutherford on July 15 and Garfield on July 23. Three individuals are believed to have taken their lives in Monmouth County in 2013 — the next largest bloc. 

In an attempt to curb suicides, New Jersey in May launched a new statewide "NJ Hopeline" suicide prevention hotline.

NJ Transit joined the effort by installing posters at its stations advertising the new service.

They’ve also attempted to prevent accidental collisions on their railroads by installing new signs and fences, clearing brush to increase visibility for engineers, and increasing police presence at stations to deter pedestrians from crossing tracks illegally.

Not everyone involved in a collision with a train is killed. So far this year, there have been eight incidents — including people who were in cars when they were struck by trains and people who jumped, fell or wandered in front of a train — in which the person was hit and survived, including one in Westwood in May.

Heguy asked that anyone who notices warning signs of suicidal behavior—speaking about wanting to die or themes of hopelessness or purposelessness, increased use of alcohol or drugs, extreme mood swings, etc.—should stay with the person and call the hotline or bring them to a hospital emergency room. The national suicide hotline can be reached at 1-800-273-8285 and the New Jersey Hopeline can be reached at 855-654-6735.