Locomotive engineer, Alfonso S. DeBonis, 47 years old at the time of his death, was a member of BLE Division 171 Hoboken, N.J. He was killed in a side swipe collision and derailment involving New Jersey Transit trains 1254 and 1107 near Secaucus, N.J., on February 9, 1996.
Brother DeBonis had earned promotion to locomotive engineer from NJ Transit on January 1, 1991. Also killed in the crash was locomotive engineer John DeCurtis, 59, a member of the United Transportation Union who had more than 40 years of railroad seniority.