Students at JP Stevens High School in Edison wore blue at Friday night’s football game to honor a student who is in the hospital after he was shocked while trying to climb over a train trestle earlier this week.
Lance Vargas, 17, broke several bones and suffered severe burns over 50 percent of his body after coming in contact with a high-voltage line and falling 30 feet near train tracks in Metuchen.
The teen’s friends tell News 12 New Jersey that he is communicating and is expected to undergo surgery on Monday.
The students wore blue, Vargas’ favorite color, at the football game to show their support.
"He was writing a few sentences the other day. He's got movement in his feet. Right now, for what he suffered, he's doing very well,” says friend Julie Katims.
The area where Vargas fell has long been considered for an expansion of the Metuchen Greenway. Some residents say that if it was restored, it would populate the area and keep this type of accident from happening.
But Vargas’ friends say that they just are hoping for the best outcome for him.
“It’s been really hard for a lot of us and especially his closer friends and the people who were there and are traumatized right now,” says student Alexandra Fabrizio.
The Metuchen mayor tells News 12 that the town and Middlesex County have been in talks with Conrail to buy the property where the accident happened.