Photo by Jeffrey Hollis A trespasser was fatally struck by a NJ Transit train Wednesday, July 21 in East Rutherford.

By Andrew Segedin / Reporter

EAST RUTHERFORD (July 29, 2010, 9:45 a.m.) — Tragedy struck in East Rutherford Wednesday, July 21 when a 41-year-old Carlstadt resident was fatally struck by NJ Transit Train 1266 between Paterson and Central avenues. Now, while details of the accident are sorted out, NJ Transit takes on the challenge of helping its crew cope.

“Any fatality on the railway has the potential to have a major impact on those on board,” said NJ Transit spokesman Dan Stessel. “(In the event of such a tragedy) the crew is immediately released and a relief crew is brought in. Not because the previous crew had done anything wrong, clearly, but because of the sort of emotional toll they take on.”

Stessel explained that every crew member reacts differently but, based on past events, the engineer and conductor are most impacted based on their responsibilities on the train.

“The engineer is helpless,” Stessel said. “It takes considerable distance for the train to come to a stop and, being at the front of the train, he or she is the last to see the trespasser.”

With it being train protocol for the conductor to step outside of the train and survey the scene in the event of any stoppage — whether it be a person, animal or debris — they are the first to see the aftermath of the accident.

The after-effects for crew members closely resemble the symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and NJ Transit, through its Employee Assistance Program, provides the crew with counseling to help cope. While Stessel stressed the fact that all members of the crew are encouraged to attend, they are unable to make the counseling mandatory and they are not permitted to disclose how many actually participate.

“Obviously, it affects different people in different ways,” he said. “Some come back to work in a day or two. Some take longer. We allow them the flexibility to handle things their own way.”

The actual counseling of the employees who do decide to participate will fall on the shoulders of psychiatric professionals and social workers such as Peter Scerbo, executive director of Comprehensive Behavioral Health Care in Lyndhurst.

“You have to recognize that this is a great tragedy,” Scerbo said. “The passengers, the employees — we aren’t used to this sort of trauma whether it’s a train accident, car accident — it’s overwhelming psychologically.”

Scerbo compared the symptoms of those involved in such an accident with that of PTSD or even survivor’s guilt. Some feel physically sick, nauseous, nervous or anxious, or lose the ability to sleep and/or eat.

“They need to understand that those feelings are completely normal,” said Scerbo who estimates that most will feel symptoms within five to 10 days but it isn’t unusual for it to take weeks or even several months. “They need to be able to talk about it and get it out of their system.”

That process, according to Scerbo, is called “debriefing” and its aim is to put the traumatic event in perspective and give the person the opportunity to open up. Often times the counselor will begin by asking what the person had done that day and what they were doing or about to do before the event jarred them out of their routine.

Afterward, the counselor explains the variety of symptoms they may experience and ways to cope with them. Debriefing sometimes only takes a few days or as long as four to six weeks and Scerbo explained that by the end, a session may only last 10 minutes — almost like a checkup.

“People need to open up — some try to keep it in — that’s the worst thing you can do,” said Scerbo.

Scerbo also explained to those who he is treating that symptom flare-ups have the potential to abound long after the accident — but that debriefing minimizes that possibility.

“If it comes back, they know what actions to take — they understand where it’s coming from.”

For better or worse, coping and understanding is the best the crew of Train 1266 can do right now as some sense is made of this horrific tragedy.

Call Andrew at 201-218-3627