An Old Tappan husband and wife were seriously injured—but recovered—after their automobile was struck by a train at the Blanche Avenue crossing in Norwood on Sept. 27, 1929.
Authorities regarded it as a miracle that the young couple wasn’t killed outright, after the train struck their auto and carried it over 100 feet. Their roadster was destroyed, as shown in the photograph at right. In this image, Lt. Edwin Levy of the Norwood Police is inspecting the wreckage.
The couple had been stopped at the crossing waiting for a southbound train to pass, after which they proceeded across the tracks. At that time, a northbound train struck their car mid-section.
Visibility of the northbound train had been blocked by a freight house. And while the cautionary signal lights had been flashing, the couple thought it was for the southbound locomotive.
Lt. Levy arrived first on scene and extricated the injured couple with help from Patrolman Nicholas Martine. Man and wife were taken to Englewood Hospital in a patrol car, and both recovered from their injuries.