Light rail train slams into fire truck in Jersey City

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A train on the Hudson–Bergen Light Rail line collided with a fire truck in Jersey City Friday evening, officials said.

The fire truck, with its lights and sirens on, was responding to an emergency call at the Newport Centre Mall when it crossed the tracks near 6th Street and Mall Drive just before 7 p.m. The train broadsided the truck, pushing it about 30 feet down the tracks, Chief of Department Steven McGill said. The collision was quite violent and derailed the front car of the train, he said.

Four firefighters were hurt, suffering bumps, bruises, and possibly broken bones, McGill said. The train operator was also hurt, but McGill said the injuries are not life-threatening. All were being treated at Jersey City Medical Center.

The light rail was carrying seven passengers, McGill said. Jersey City police officers interviewed them about what happened.

McGill said authorities were investigating.

"Saw the smoke, so terrible," Wenbo Wang‏ (@WenboWang2) tweeted. "I was walking with my boyfriend and he heard a loud thud. Then I saw a fire truck was slowly driving away from a train with some smoke."

The light rail was suspended in both ways between Marin Boulevard and Newport stations, New Jersey Transit tweeted.