The Press and Journal (Inverness, Highlands, and Islands)
One killed and 100 injured as train crashes at station
America: Packed commuter carriages smash through barrier at rush-hour
At least one person was killed and more than 100 injured when a crowded rush-hour commuter train crashed through a barrier at a busy station in New Jersey and lurched across the waiting area, authorities said.
People pulled concrete off bleeding victims and passengers kicked out windowsandcrawled outamid crying and screaming after the arriving New Jersey Transit train ran off the end of its track at Hoboken station. It apparently knocked out pillars as it ground to a halt in a covered waiting area, collapsing a section of the roof onto the first car.
Ross Bauer, an IT specialist
“The lights went out and we heard a loud crashing noise”
who was heading to hisManhattan job from his home in Hackensack, was sitting in the third or fourth car when the train was pulling into the historic 109-year-old station for its final stop.
“All of a sudden, there was an abrupt stop and a big jolt that threw people out of their seats. The lights went out and we heard a loud crashing noise – like an explosion – that turned out to be the roof of the terminal,” he said.
“I heard panicked screams, and everyone was stunned.”
New Jersey Governor Chris Christie said one person was killed. Of the more than 100 others injured, 74 were taken to hospital, according to NJ Transit and area hospitals.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) sent investigators to the scene.
They will want to know what the operator was do- ing before the crash and whether the person was distracted, said Bob Chipkevich, who formerly headed the NTSB train crash investigations section. William Blaine, an engineer for a company that runs freight trains, was inside the station when the train crashed and ran over to help.
He walked over to the heavily damaged first car with a transit employee to check on the train’s engineer and said he found him slumped over the controls. The engineer’s condition was not immediately clear.