Some people lie on the tracks in the path of an oncoming train. Some walk defiantly in the direction of a train as it hurtles toward them, or stand in place until they can look directly into the eyes of the terrified engineer.

Others walk along the tracks listening to music through earbuds, purposefully oblivious to the approaching train that will end their life.

However they do it, suicides by train are on the upswing in New Jersey, leading NJ Transit and the state Department of Human Services to work together with a sense of urgency on new programs aimed at stemming the tragic trend.

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Sharon Spitler had every intention of taking her life when she left her motel room in the early morning of Sept. 25.

At 6:40 a.m., the 56-year-old Westland, Mich., woman walked to the nearby South Shore railroad tracks and stood between the long twin rails that disappear in both directions in The Pines. With a fast-approaching westbound South Shore passenger train heading her way, Spitler turned her back to it.

Read the complete story at the Post-Tribune.