|

Amtrak train strikes car stuck on tracks at Princeton Junction

A still photo from the dashcam video of the collision Tuesday night.

An Amtrak train struck a Toyota Camry that was stuck on the train tracks under a bridge in West Windsor just before midnight on Tuesday. The crash destroyed the vehicle, but no one was injured in the incident.

The crash took place on the westbound Amtrak train tracks underneath the Route #64 Bridge just north of Washington Road at the Princeton Junction Train Station.

The driver of the Toyota Camry, Amna Ahmed, 23, of Saddle Brook, was allegedly driving while intoxicated, according to police.

Police were dispatched to the train tracks before midnight after they received reports that a car was disabled on the Amtrak train tracks. They discovered a 2012 Toyota Camry facing east on the westbound Amtrak track. The vehicle had been driven there by Ahmed, who was at the scene when police arrived. Ahmed’s father and sister drove to the scene to help her and were in a white BMW on an access road next to the train tracks.

Police dispatchers began to make notifications to stop all train traffic due to the Toyota Camry being on a track with people in such close proximity to the train tracks.  But as another police officer arrived on the scene shortly after the others, a westbound Amtrak train approached at a high rate of speed. Ahmed and the police who had arrived on the scene earlier took cover behind a building along the tracks. The sister and father remained in the BMW and the sister moved the car up slightly, while the other police officer ran for cover behind a concrete bridge abutment.

The train struck the Camry and sent heavy debris flying toward the area, police said. The Camry was destroyed. Some train cars and the engine car sustained extensive damage. Other train cars sustained moderate damage. The BMW was damaged by the flying debris. The debris area extended past Washington Road. 

No one was injured, police said.

Other trains were at a standstill for about three hours. Some passengers on NJ Transit trains texted Planet Princeton at about 1 a.m. and 2 a.m. reporting that they were stuck waiting in trains near Princeton Junction.

Ahmed was issued summonses for reckless driving and driving while intoxicated.