Commuter Train Crashes Into Hoboken Terminal, Injuring At Least 100

September 29, 20169:19 AM ET

CAMILA DOMONOSKE

A commuter train in New Jersey crashed into Hoboken Terminal in New Jersey on Thursday morning, resulting in multiple injuries and visible structural damage.

New Jersey transit officials said at least 100 people are injured, Stephen Nessen of WNYC reports. Joseph Scott, the CEO of Jersey City Medical Center, said the hospital had admitted some victims in critical or serious condition.

There have been media reports of fatalities, which transit officials did not confirm. Gov. Chris Christie told CNN around 11:30 a.m. Eastern that everyone trapped on the train has been rescued.

Nessen says passengers on the train that crashed say it approached the station at "full speed" before slamming into the barrier at the end of the track, with the impact throwing riders onto the floor. 

WNYC's Nancy Solomon arrived on the scene shortly after the crash, and says she personally saw 20 to 30 injured people, including at least four who were unable to walk. 

She says a train had traveled "all the way into the station — not into the waiting room but into the outdoor part where people transfer."

The station suffered visible structural damage, with water spraying from the area affected. "About a fourth of the roof is collapsed," Solomon tells our Newscast unit.

Solomon spoke to one man who had been a passenger on the train that crashed, in the second car. He said he noticed the train didn't seem to be slowing down enough as it approached the station, and he braced himself for impact. 

"People all around him were bloodied," Solomon says. "The train went dark after it crashed. People were screaming, and then they helped each other — there was really no assistance — they helped each other off the train."

Witness Ben Fairclough tells NPR's Morning Edition he, too, talked to people who were inside the train as it crashed.

"They said the train was shaking before it came to an eventual stop and it was moving at a high rate of speed," he says. "There were people climbing out of windows, there was water coming down from the top of the ceiling and there did appear to be folks who were unconscious."

 

A portion of the roof collapsed after a NJ Transit crashed in to the platform at the 

Hoboken Terminal on Thursday morning. Pancho Bernasconi/Getty Images

There is no indication of what may have caused the accident. The Federal Railroad Administration has investigators on site, NPR's David Schaper reports, and the National Transportation Safety Board is gathering information on the crash.

Rail service in and out of Hoboken train station has been suspended, New Jersey Transit has announced. Transit buses and the NY Waterway are accepting rail tickets and passes.

Hoboken Terminal is a major commuter hub, connecting New Jersey Transit commuter rail to PATH trains into New York City. The station averages more than than 15,000 boardings each weekday on New Jersey Transit, and 28,000 each weekday on PATH.

 

First responders treat injured passengers after a New Jersey Transit train crashed into the 

platform at Hoboken Terminal during morning rush hour on Thursday. 

This is a breaking news story. As often happens in situations like these, some information reported early may turn out to be inaccurate. We'll move quickly to correct the record and we'll only point to the best information we have at the time.

Source: http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/09/29/495904103/commuter-train-crashes-into-station-in-hoboken-n-j

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