Women loses leg in NJ Transit accident, then pulls herself off tracks

NEW JERSEY - There's nothing a Jersey girl can't do.

That sentiment rang true when a 29-year-old young woman from the Garden State saved her own life after she was hit by a train in early May.

Lisa Fitzgerald was struck by a New Jersey Transit (NJT) train at the Morristown train station in northern New Jersey on May 5. Lisa's stepmother Stacie Weil-Fitzgerald told Fox News Digital that it was "pouring rain" on the night of the horrific accident, and Lisa was waiting for a train to take her to New York City.

"Freak accident…somehow, she wound up under the train," Weil-Fitzgerald explained. "Her leg was immediately severed off of her."

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The mother explained that the train was still coming into the station when Lisa was struck. She was hit by the last few cars of the train.

"She corralled herself up onto the platform and she waited on the tracks," Weil-Fitzgerald described. "She crawled herself over, poor thing."

"She was like, 'I was just so scared that my hair was going to get caught up in there and that they were going to suck [me back in]," she added. "So she waited for the train to stop. She levied herself up on to the platform and she started screaming for help."

Weil-Fitzgerald told Fox News Digital that some people at the Morristown train station just walked by her and ignored her screams. Lisa wasn't helped until an NJT worker noticed her.

"Her leg was completely severed. She was bleeding out…she started screaming for help," Weil-Fitzgerald explained. "And somebody that works for New Jersey Transit, the ticket collector, came over, and he totally freaked out."

"She said, ‘You have ten seconds to give me help. And she started screaming, counting, ’One, two, three,'" she described. "And luckily enough, two Morristown Police Department officers heard."

Lisa tried tourniquetting her own leg with her T-shirt until police officers assisted her. The Morristown Department of Public Safety (MDPS) confirmed the incident in a Facebook post.

"Upon making contact with the female, [an officer] noticed her left leg right above the knee was severed from her body and she was bleeding profusely," the MDPS statement read. "He immediately applied a tourniquet and tightened it until the bleeding was observed to have stopped."

Morristown Fire Department (MFD) officials also arrived to assist officers and recover the missing limb. Lisa's leg was located under the train and given to medical personnel.

"The actions of Officers Hollain, Cerrick and Moran undoubtedly saved this woman's life," officials added. "They exhibited unwavering composure which facilitated quick effective decision-making and provided comfort and support to the victim." 

The New Jersey Transit (NJT) train hit Fitzgerald at the Morristown, New Jersey, station (left) on May 5. (Google Maps / Getty Images)

Weil-Fitzgerald told Fox News Digital that, even in the tragic situation, Lisa's bright personality shone through.

"She was totally coherent and she was making jokes," she said. "She was like, 'Please get me to the hospital. I'm not going to die this way.'"

Lisa was rushed to a hospital and treated, but her leg could not be reattached to her body. A GoFundMe set up by her sister has raised over $77,000 so far.

The tragic incident happened two weeks before Lisa's 30th birthday party. The birthday plans were scrapped and made into a "glamputation" party instead.

"We decorated the hospital and we had a big celebration for her," Weil-Fitzgerald said. "And she is in such good spirits. With her GoFundMe, people have just been so supportive and so amazing. That really makes us feel good."

Lisa, who is one of 8 siblings, has been called the "Miracle of Morristown" for surviving the incident and displaying such resilience and grit through her recovery. 

"She's unbelievable," the proud mother said. "She has not stopped smiling."

Fox News Digital reached out to New Jersey Transit Police.