At least 1 dead, multiple critical injuries in New Jersey train accident
HOBOKEN, New Jersey -- At least one person was killed and more than 100 hurt when a commuter train barreled into a New Jersey rail station during the Thursday morning rush hour, causing serious damage to both the train and station.
Witnesses reported serious injuries, including one woman who was trapped under concrete and many people bleeding.
"We're panicking, because I believe those people in the front were very badly injured," a passenger, Jamie, told reporters at the scene. "So they started yelling, because they saw the blood."
The incident happened just before 9 a.m. (EST) Thursday, with witnesses reporting that the train appeared to crash into the station. State officials confirmed the fatality, and it is possible more people were killed.
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New Jersey state EMS is reporting more than 100 patients, but the extent of the injuries is unknown. New Jersey Transit is reporting multiple passengers trapped, structural damage and a collapse in the station. At least a dozen ambulances were at the scene, and victims were being wheeled from the scene on stretchers. Officials described "multiple critical injuries."
The train came to a halt in a covered area between the station's indoor waiting area and the platform. A metal structure covering the area collapsed, and officials reported heavy damage to terminal. Structural engineers are already on the scene, and investigators from the NTSB were headed there.
Passengers say it was train number 1614 on the Pascack Valley Line, which departed from Spring Valley at 7:23 and was due to arrive in Hoboken at 8:38. It was apparently running late.
PHOTOS: Train crash in Hoboken
Most of the injuries appeared to be in the first car or people struck by debris inside the station. Passengers on the second car and behind it were able to exit the train, and some reportedly broke the emergency windows to escape.
All rail service is suspended in and out of Hoboken. New Jersey Transit bus and private carriers are honoring NJT rail tickets and passes, and NY Waterway ferry is accepting rail tickets and passes. Passengers are advised to use NJ Transit Light Rail.
Hoboken, which is New Jersey Transit's fifth-busiest stations with 15,000 boardings per weekday, is the final stop for several train lines and a transfer point for many commuters on their way to New York City. A spokesman for the Federal Railroad Administration says that investigators have been dispatched to the scene.
NJ Transit provides more than 200 million passenger trips annually on bus, rail and light rail lines. More than 100,000 people use NJ Transit trains to commute from New Jersey into New York City daily.
