3 dead and 100 hurt as train rams station
Train went airborne destroying parts of roof too
Hoboken, New Jersey,
Sept. 29: A packed commuter train crashed into a station in New Jersey during the morning rush hour on Thursday, with three people reported killed and more than 100 injured, many of them in critical condition.
The train failed to stop as it pulled into Hoboken station, causing major damage to the transit hub just over the Hudson river from Manhattan.
Michael Larson, a New Jersey transit employee, said the train hit a concrete block at the end of the line with such force that it went airborne — hitting the roof and causing it to partly collapse.
“We have 100 plus injuries,” Jennifer Nelson, a New Jersey transit spokeswoman, told reporters at the scene, adding that there were “multiple critical injuries.” Sources reported three fatalities from the Thursday morning accident.
Nelson said there were around 250 passengers on the train at the time of the crash, which occurred at around 9:00 am and that it was not known if there were still people trapped on board.
Some of the passengers said that they saw the train ramming at full speed into the bumper at the end of the track.
“We never slowed down,” Jim Finan, a commuter from New Jersey, said. “We ploughed, I mean, right through the bumper. Afterwards there was some panic. People were trying to smash some windows out.” Finan said it was an crowded morning.