By Sunayana Prabhu
RED BANK – More than 200 students, teachers, relatives and neighbors gathered at Count Basie Park last Saturday afternoon to remember 16-year-old Terry Nathaniel Haupt Jr., a Red Bank Regional High School student who was fatally struck by a New Jersey Transit train near Red Bank station May 13.
Terry was hit by the train at approximately 6:20 a.m. while crossing the tracks near Chestnut Street, NJ Transit officials confirmed. NJ Transit authorities and Red Bank Police responded to the scene.
“This was a very tragic incident that occurred,” Red Bank Police Chief Michael Frazee said. He would not discuss any further information “because the incident is still under investigation by NJ Transit.”
Terry’s mother, Jazmin Edwards, said her son was following a familiar route home from the YMCA when he was struck by the train.
“That was an accident. My son would never want to hurt himself,” Edwards told The Two River Times during a May 16 memorial at Count Basie Park. She was responding to what she said were unfounded comments on social media.
In a Facebook post, Edwards said her son “was simply taking a shortcut from the YMCA, like I have done since I was a kid. He had headphones on and did not hear the train. Terry loved his 5 a.m. workouts at the Y and then would come home to shower before school.”
The memorial was organized by the Red Bank American Youth Football & Cheer (RBAYFC), a community-driven league for ages 4 to 12. Terry played football with RBAYFC. He was also on RBR’s track team.
Students and friends had already held an impromptu memorial at Belhaven Nature Park at the end of Locust Avenue after the incident, but the call to celebrate the young man’s life grew from RBAYFC’s social media post, drawing a large crowd to the park. Community members donated food, a DJ played music and kids played football on the field. RBAYFC is also raising funds through its Instagram account @redbankbucs to support the family.
“He was so smiley, so bubbly, so full of energy that it kind of just spread to the whole class,” said Josiah Johnson, one of Terry’s friends.
Red Bank Council member Ben Forest, Deputy Mayor Kate Triggiano and Red Bank Regional High School Principal Nicholas Timpone joined hundreds of others who signed a poster in Terry’s memory.
Triggiano said dozens of teenagers biked together from Riverside Gardens Park to Count Basie Park as a show of solidarity, accompanied by a police escort.
He was a “great student,” Timpone said.
“This is a time of immense loss for our school community. We are holding the family close in our hearts,” Red Bank Regional Superintendent Louis Moore said in an email before the event. “We will continue to do all we can to support our students and school community during this difficult time.”
Safety Concerns
Residents are calling for additional safety measures to prevent such incidents in the future.
“Kids will find shortcuts and faster ways everywhere,” resident Eva Garcia, a student at Rutgers University, wrote in a letter read by her mother, Jennifer Garcia, a Red Bank Board of Education member, at the May 14 Red Bank Borough Council meeting. Eva proposed closing off all access to the train tracks by fixing broken fences, blocking openings, adding more warning signs and increasing enforcement along the tracks. She also called for better safety education in schools, including talks from police officers on the dangers of trains.
The “only solution to these problems is zero access for anyone to be able to walk on the tracks,” Ava’s letter said. “It’s a massive shame that Terry’s family, friends and community have to mourn Terry so soon.”
Mayor Billy Portman said he is in discussion with NJ Transit on safety measures to avoid repeat incidents.
NJ Transit authorities have identified the train involved in the accident as North Jersey Coast Line No. 3218. It departed Long Branch at 6:08 a.m. May 13 and was scheduled to arrive at Penn Station New York at 7:39 a.m. North Jersey Coast Line service was suspended until 9:15 a.m. between Long Branch and Matawan following the incident. There were no reported injuries to the crew or the 55 passengers on board the train, according to an NJ Transit spokesperson.
The article originally appeared in the May 21 – 27, 2026 print edition of The Two River Times.
