Putting the Brakes on Stupidity

New Jersey Transit officials say a passenger pulled the emergency stop on a train so he could retrieve the cellphone he dropped on the tracks.

Authorities say Eric Jones, of Harlem in New York City, was riding on a North Jersey Coast Line train when he accidentally dropped his phone onto the tracks while he was between cars.

The train was stopped around 8:20 a.m. that Monday near the Secaucus Junction. The stoppage caused travel delays of up to 15 minutes on several lines during the morning commute.

NJ Transit issued a statement criticizing Jones’ “reckless behavior,” noting that he risked injury to himself and hundreds of others aboard the train.

A telephone number for Jones could not be located to verify his side of the story. He is charged with defiant trespass and interfering with transportation.


This Town Ain’t Big Enough

An 80-year-old Connecticut barber is accused of trying to sabotage a barbershop that opened a few doors down.

The Connecticut Post reports that Agron Komoni, owner of Agron’s Barbershop in Wilton, began having problems in August.

He says he found a key intentionally broken off inside the lock of his shop. A few weeks later, a toothpick was jammed inside. The same thing happened again four more times, so Komoni installed a video surveillance system and notified police when he caught someone in the act. 

Police say the system caught Frank DiMarino in the act on the early morning hours of December 4. Mr. DiMarino co-owns Razor’s Edge, a barbershop about 100 yards from Agron’s Barbershop.

DiMarino turned himself in on a charge of third-degree criminal mischief for the incident.

The scofflaw did not immediately return a message seeking his side of the story. But he’s old enough to know better!


That’s the Way I Roll

For motorists who think bicyclists in Chicago have been granted unconditional rights to violate every traffic law on the books, authorities were out in force one Tuesday in December to suggest otherwise. 

The sting was conducted at only one intersection near downtown, and only for two hours during the morning rush. But the site that was chosen is a complex intersection that’s a magnet for bicycling commuters, widespread disregard for red lights, and plenty of accidents and close calls, officials said. Approximately 240 warnings and one citation were issued in the two-hour sting.