Gates To Be Installed at Site of Fatal Accident

Automatic safety gates will be installed at the Franklin Lakes railroad crossing where a 20-year-old Hawthorne man was killed last year, officials have determined.

Because the county road and railroad line are operated by entities other than the borough, the decision had determined at a meeting between Franklin Lakes borough officials, New Jersey Department of Transportation, New York Susquehanna & Western Railway Corporation and Bergen County.

"I was determined to push this decision as much as I could,"  Franklin Lakes Mayor Frank Bivona said in a statement. "It is gratifying that the Department of Transportation and the railroad have agreed to move forward with this project.  Our focus will now turn to getting this work done as soon as feasible."

The gates and safety improvements at the railroad crossing will be installed by the New York Susquehanna & Western Railway with funding from the New Jersey Department of Transportation, according to the boroufh.

Officials said the work is expected to be completed by the end of the year.

The  took place approximately one year after   was killed after the SUV he was riding in drove into a moving train at the intersection of Pulis Avenue and the New York, Susquehanna & Western Railway. Police said the warning lights and bells were working at the time of the accident.