Morristown High School student assaulted at train station

The Morristown train station's New York-bound platform, where a Morristown High School student was violently assaulted on Jan. 12, 2025. Photo by Bill Lescohier
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A Morristown High School senior is recovering from a broken jaw, fractures to his eye socket and back of his skull, and facial cuts after being attacked earlier this month at the Morristown train station.

A Morristown man was arrested the next day and remains in the Morris County Jail on charges of aggravated assault, endangering the welfare of a child, and other alleged offenses.

The Morristown train station. Photo by Bill Lescohier

The student had just come from Sunday school and was with three buddies awaiting a train for an afternoon of fun in New York, when a man in a hoodie approached from behind, punched him in the back of the head, and walked off, according to the student’s cousin, who was part of the group.

The blow knocked the student face-first onto the concrete platform, unconscious and gushing blood from his eyebrow, the cousin told Morristown Green.

It could have been even worse: The group had been standing just behind the yellow safety line.

“If we were a bit closer, my cousin would have fallen into the tracks,” said the cousin, a college student from Morristown who, like other relatives of the victim, agreed to speak on condition of anonymity. Morristown Green is not naming the victim because he is a minor.

The cousin said bystanders on the platform saw the bleeding teenager sprawled on the platform but did nothing. Moments later the train arrived, picked up the passengers, and rolled away, he said.

Morristown police declined to release any details about the Jan. 12, 2025, incident, saying it remains under investigation. NJ Transit Police, leading the investigation, confirmed the assault but declined to answer questions or discuss station security. A spokesperson issued this statement:

At approximately 12:42 p.m. on Sunday New Jersey Transit Police were notified by Morristown Police of an injured person on the platform of Morristown Station. The juvenile male was transported to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries and says he was knocked unconscious by another individual. An adult male was identified and charged with assault.  New Jersey Transit Police are leading the investigation

Court records show that the man charged is Wardell F. Corbin, 35, of Morristown. At a hearing on Jan. 28, Superior Court Judge Thomas Critchley ordered his continued detention.

On the day of Corbin’s arrest, Jan. 13, he also was charged with the burglary of a “structure other than a residential dwelling,” a third degree crime; and with disorderly conduct for engaging “in fighting or threatening, or in violent or tumultuous behavior,” which court documents appear to allege occurred in Madison.

The second-degree crime of aggravated assault that knowingly or recklessly causes serious bodily injury carries maximum penalties of 10 years in jail and $150,000 in fines upon conviction. For the third-degree endangerment and burglary charges, conviction can bring up to three years and $15,000.

Corbin’s record includes at least one prior assault conviction and arrests on burglary charges stretching back at least to 2013. At a home in Boonton Township in 2016, police there reported Corbin choked a victim to unconsciousness and fled into the woods. While being held in the Morris County Jail in 2017 awaiting sentencing for an assault, he was charged with throwing a cup of spit into a nurse’s face.

The train station has seen its share of violent incidents over the years, including a murder, suicides,* and a woman who slipped under a moving train — and survived.

SURGERY, STITCHES, AND A STRAW

According to the victim’s cousin, a man in a hoodie had been sitting on a bench at the train station. He seemed a bit off; they ignored him. The cousin gave this account of what happened next.

The four friends were in a circle, chatting in anticipation of some clothes shopping in Soho and maybe a café break. It was a last get-together before two of them headed back to college after winter break.

“Then this dude just comes up behind my cousin and says, ‘Say this again or I’ll knock you the —- out.’ Before I had time to say anything the guy just swung and hit my cousin on the back of the head and knocked him out.”

The eastbound platform of the Morristown train station. Photo by Bill Lescohier

One of the foursome pushed the assailant, who ambled away. The others, stunned, attended to the victim. The cousin spent several minutes awakening him. He estimated 15 people were on the platform.

“They just looked at us and got on the train,” he said. Morristown police arrived, and the victim was rushed to Morristown Medical Center, where he received 16 stitches to his eyebrow and underwent surgery on his jaw.

It’s wired shut. The 17-year-old has lost seven pounds on a liquid diet, and will miss six weeks of school, his mother said. The attack also forced her son, an aspiring architect, to miss early-admission college tours.

He has no memory of the incident, his mother said. She is unhappy that police have not alerted the community, so residents and visitors can be vigilant. She wants NJ Transit Police patrols at the station, and wonders if anyone actually monitors its surveillance cameras.

As for the cousin, he plans a different point of origin for his next trip to the city.

“I’m probably not going to use the Morristown train station. I probably will go to Convent Station. It’s a women’s college. It’s definitely going to be safer.”

* If you or someone you know is in crisis, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255). More help is here.

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17 COMMENTS

  1. Mtwngrl- Considering that traffic stops can be one the most dangerous things for a cop to do, it’s not out of the ordinary or “a show of force” to have back-up. They are approaching an unknown situation with so many unknown variables, ie. an armed driver, armed passengers or multiple armed passengers. Despite being on a residential road with no one else around, not using a blinker can be an indicator for an impaired driver especially at the time you were stopped. I’m sure you do appreciate the police, but you clearly have no idea how and why they operate the way they do. To say they are hassling uber drivers is ridiculous. They are “professional” drivers and should know the traffic laws and adhere to them just like everyone else. Perhaps you can provide the police a list of areas where you find a “show of force” acceptable and appropriate.

  2. Friday night I arrived home via an uber. TWO police cars, with their lights on approached my driver when he pulled over in front of my house. They questioned him because he didn’t put his blinker on 100′ before he pulled over. It was 1am on a residential street, there were no other cars or people around. I would imagine that show of force could have been more useful anywhere in town. I respect our police and appreciate the job they do. But they should not be hassling uber drivers who are doing a public service so people don’t drink and drive

  3. The police can’t be everywhere. No one is coming to save you. You are your own rescuer. And when a crowd is there during a crime, even then you can’t count on someone jumping in for several reasons. First, everyone might be waiting for someone else to save the day. Second, the hero might have not assessed the situation accurately. Third, when you elect to insert yourself into a third party conflict there is a good chance that you could be injured (or worse), arrested, charged, and sued.

  4. Yes, Lisa, you’re right to question the coverage of the murder of Kitty Genovese as later analysis of “the bystanders doing nothing” found significant errors in the reporting. Nonetheless, the story had a significant impact, and raised concerns about how citizens should respond, what our society hopes we, citizens, wil see our their obligations to be……and, frankly, gave people a lot “to process” in examining their own behavior. That is why I mentioned it.

  5. Why not do an OPRA request seeking 12 month snapshot of arrest data that includes the RACE/ETHNICITY/CRIME committed. I am sure the statistics exist and are easily accessible for those who actually want to know what is going on around them, and by whom. The public has a right to access that data if requested, and there is no filter to those facts lawfully.

  6. New Jersey is a Demorat run state I wouldn’t think any different or expect any different until policies are changed. So sorry to hear about the young student I hope he recovers and gets to carry a big stick in the future. I left NJ a number of years ago and will never return there as a resident as the politics don’t fit me any longer.

  7. Morristown is the fourth smallest at (2.8-3.3 total square miles! )
    Morristown has the second largest ( in hired officers )paid police department , after the town of Parsippany Nj which has the most officers in the county and has the largest square miles of property in the county at 25.5 land miles. Morristown has little or no visible walking foot patrols in Town  while there is a need , and parsippany has zero need for foot patrols and does not use them.

    Morrristown is very top-heavy in public safety administration. They have a full-time paid police chief.They have other superior officers and they are led by a “public safety Director “who was recruited and hired by the mayor ,this public safety Director is paid almost as much as the police high as a police chief, and he reports directly to the mayor. The reason why the mayor hired him is because the mayor one, and I have complete control of the police department, and the information that gets out to the public. He also wanted to dispose of the prior police chief, so this would give him complete control as a result very little police report activity is leaked out to the public so people don’t know the number of assault, etc. that are going on around them. The rubber stamp Morristown council approved all of this.

    The city Council has allowed this to happen with no oversight thusly we have incidents like this happening at the train station. We’re in unarmed unprotected student is heavily assaulted at the train station, where there should be a police for patrols, walking in any densely populated area.
    There are no foot patrols anywhere on a regular basis in the 3.3 acres of the walking pedestrian areas. In Morristown.

    Not to mention a few weeks back I was followed after leaving the tavern on the green. Our streets are becoming unsafe. There is no police patrolling Morristown. Has anyone ever noticed that you can go from on side of town to the other with no police presence. And this is the administration we are continuing to leave in power? This is an outrage that a young person got attacked. What is the current administration doing to keep the residents safe in Morristown? I ask you.

  8. The train station is a hotbed of ordinance violations. In the summer you have the luxury of the scenic views of drunk men of a certain culture, passed out on the lawn with scattered booze bottles. Some crews may say, its their right to picnic under the stars. The majority of us dont want to be around loitering, drunks, urination and crime. Not sure why the town would invest in the area and leave the station to be a swill haven.
    They simply don’t allow the conduct in nicer towns. It isnt something they welcome as the fabric in the community standard. modelo.

  9. We Morristownians know our town has always been a very safe place for our families to live in. We always had respect for law enforcement, churches, and public transportation areas. Please, do not let assaults and pretty crimes go unnoticed in this town with a great reputation.

  10. If this happened in any other of the surrounding local towns close by ,that also have a train station like Morris Plains ,Madison, Morristownship, Chatham etc,many residents would be at the elected board of the town council meeting ,demanding action ,and changes. A student being assaulted in this manner is unacceptable, no excuse is acceptable.

  11. Believe it now, because it happened. The fact that eye witnesses and others just walked away or did not want to help or get involved is scary. The town has really changed. Was not always like that, I know that for sure. For some reason many of the assaults that do take place in Morristown never hit the media or the news I wonder why? Too bad there is no investigation on why all daily police reports ,and follow up activities are not made public. More and more children and adults seem to find it necessary to take self defense classes etc , but when you get hit in the back of the head like this poor soul did what can you do? Maybe the powers that be need to beef up police patrols walking the train station and other areas as population grows and increases? The town master plans calls for building more construction in the area of the train station so it might be a good idea to widen security measures?What can people do?

  12. So much to reflect on here but not enough information to draw any secure conclusions. Reacting to the bystanders apparent disinterest, some see a “Kitty Genoese” repeat—she was the young woman who was murdered while residents in nearby buildings, hearing her cries, evidently did nothing. People were horrified; news stories continued to focus on the story as the absence of responsibility on the part of members of society was repeatedly scrutinized and criticized. Maybe here, though, the crowd awaiting the train saw that the young man was not alone—three others were with him—and may have concluded he was in good hands with his friends. We may never know. What we do know, though, is that a perpetrator with a history—looks like mental illness plays a part—needs to be removed from the streets. Public safety bears scrutiny, and, a young man who has had his life profoundly affected should be receiving the embrace of the community but that he remains anonymous is perfectly understandable. It might help him to know that what happened to him will be a wake-up call to the ‘powers that be’ and safety and security at the Morristown train station will be significantly improved.

  13. Believe it now, because it happened. The fact that eye witnesses and others just walked away or did not want to help or get involved is scary. The town has really changed. Was not always like that, I know that for sure. For some reason many of the assaults that do take place in Morristown never hit the media or the news I wonder why? Too bad there is no investigation on why all daily police reports ,and follow up activities are not made public. More and more children and adults seem to find it necessary to take self defense classes etc , but when you get hit in the back of the head like this poor soul did what can you do? Maybe the powers that be need to beef up police patrols walking the train station and other areas as population grows and increases? The town master plans calls for building more construction in the area of the train station so it might be a good idea to widen security measures?What can people do? The town officials want to build , build , build but the planners , politicians, and large developers never mention public safety and security.Why do the residents of the town put up with this? Sad and not right. Everybody deserves better. If problems are ignored they do not just go away. What is the plan? Usually just silence from the elected officials ,and business as usual . Stay tuned .

  14. im shocked also that there was no info from the town. thank you morristown green. Without you no one would know anything going on. Hope he has a full recovery.

  15. Not saying it’s not true but I can’t believe that bystanders wouldn’t call 911 immediately and offer any type of assistance…unbelievable!!! Is there any surveillance video of this incident? Lack of humanity is disgraceful and extremely disturbing. Prayers to the victim.

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