Hawthorne Student Charged in Fatal Franklin Lakes Train Accident

A Hawthorne High School student was charged with vehicular homicide Wednesday in connection with the death of his friend, who was killed in January when the car he was driving hit a freight train crossing Pulis Avenue.

Authorities say Jeffrey Cohen, 18, was high on marijuana when the crash occured. Front-seat passenger, Marcus Ruta, 20, of Hawthorne, was killed in the crash.

Cohen was charged with first degree vehicular homicide, fourth degree assault by auto, driving under the influence and several motor vehicle violations, Bergen County Prosecutor John Molinelli said in a release. The vehicular homicide charge is a first degree offense under the law because the accident occured withing 1,000 feet of a Franklin Avenue Middle School, Molinelli said.

Cohen surrendered to the Franklin Lakes police department on Wednesday and appeared in municipal court, where bail was set at $150,000.

Cohen was driving a white Jeep Cherokee shortly before 8:30 p.m. on Jan. 24, when he drove "directly into the engine of a New York Susquehanna and Western Railroad train," the prosecutor said.

"Mr. Cohen failed to respond to warning lights, klaxons and horns, and the presence of the train itself before the collision," Molinelli said in the release.

Ruta was pronouced dead at the scene, while Cohen and rear seat passenger Joseph Belasco, 18, of Hawthorne, were taken to Hackensack University Medical Center. A blood sample taken at the hospital showed that Cohen was under the influence of marijuana when the crash occured, Molinelli said.

The three Hawthorne men were returning from a day of snowboarding at Campgaw when the accident occurred.