Debris hampers probe of Hoboken train crash; 1 dead, 114 hurt

Federal investigators probing the crash of a NJ Transit train at the Hoboken train station struggled Thursday to get full access to the scene, hampered by safety concerns with the damaged building, the vice chair of the National Transportation Safety Board said.

Bella Dinh-Zarr said investigators expected by late that day to recover the data recorder from the locomotive at the rear of the commuter train, which plowed past a bumper and into the station during the morning rush hour, coming to rest in a covered area between the station’s indoor waiting area and the platform.

But it wasn’t safe enough yet for investigators to extract the second recorder from the engineer’s compartment because of the collapsed roof and the possibility of asbestos in the old building, Dinh-Zarr said.

The crash killed a New Jersey woman on the platform who was hit by falling debris and injured 114 others, some of them seriously.

The train had originated across the New York line in Spring Valley at 7:23 a.m. and the impact occurred about 8:45 a.m. as it reached its final stop in New Jersey, officials said.

Dinh-Zarr said it could be as late as Friday afternoon before investigators can look over the three passenger cars on the train, including the lead car where the engineer had been working. A canopy at the station collapsed onto the car, and leaking water and possible asbestos issues further complicated matters, she said.

The train had an estimated 250 people on board at the time it crashed, according to Jennifer Nelson, a New Jersey Transit spokeswoman.

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The Associated Press identified the woman killed as Fabiola Bittar de Kroon, 34, of Hoboken. The engineer of the train, Thomas Gallagher, 48, of Morris Plains, New Jersey survived; he was discharged from the hospital later Thursday and said to be "fully cooperating" with the investigation. He has worked for NJ Transit for 29 years, an agency spokeswoman said. A union roster shows he started as an engineer about 18 years ago.

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie and New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo stressed the cause of the crash was still under investigation.

"The one thing we know is the train came in at much too high a rate of speed, and the question is, why is that," Christie said.

Added Cuomo: "It could be personal to the conductor, it could be equipment failure, it could be anything."

Speaking at a news conference shortly before 6 p.m., Dinh-Zarr said the data recorder would show how fast the train was going and whether it braked. She said investigators are also planning to review video footage from outward-facing video recorders at the front and rear of the train.

Dinh-Zarr said trains are supposed to be traveling no more than 10 mph approaching the station.

Eyewitness: 'Bomb-like explosion'

Mike Larson, a machinist with NJ Transit who witnessed the crash, estimated the train was going about 30 mph when it hit.

He saw the train hit the bumper block at the end of the track, and then go airborne. The top of the car hit the overhanging roof above the platform, which then pushed in the top of the first half of the front car. The car roof was sandwiched down to the level of the seats, he said.

“The impact sounded like a bomb-like explosion,” he said. “I really don’t know why he came in so quickly. I can only speculate it was a medical condition (with the engineer) like a heart attack or something.”

“Some bystanders crawled on their hands and knees to help people out,” he said. “People had a lot of bad cuts. One lady had a full length slice on her leg.”

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William Blaine, a passenger who is a train engineer for Norfolk Southern railroad, said he had seen the train engineer "slumped over in the cabin" after the impact and also speculated that the engineer may have experienced a health crisis that prevented him from applying the brakes.

“It simply did not stop,” a witness, WFAN anchor John Minko, told 1010 WINS. “It went right through the barriers and into the reception area.”

The impact took out a number of structural supports for the station's roof. Christie said a team was evaluating the damaged station's "structural integrity." He said a secondary issue would be when power to the damaged NJ Transit station - cut immediately after the crash - could be restored.

Service through the adjoining PATH station resumed Thursday afternoon.

Passengers told harrowing tales of their morning commute gone suddenly awry.

Dominic Sgamvelloni from New Milford was sitting in the third row of the train’s first car. He was on the phone, wearing headphones, and didn’t see the train was about to crash, but the passenger next to him did and braced.

“I guess I hit my head,” when the train crashed, he said. “It felt like we kept moving for five or six seconds, like the train wouldn’t stop.”

“It felt like the World Trade Center coming down,” Sgamvelloni said. “The roof almost caved into my head. Two guys behind me opened the window. They climbed out first. Then a pregnant lady, then me.”

David Mielach of Little Falls, 27, boarded the train in Secaucus, and was standing in the middle vestibule of the front car reading on his phone. “I heard a loud sound, didn’t know what was going on,” he said. He saw something come through the roof in the front part of the car. “It pushed down on the train,” he said. “Those people sitting up there had to crawl to get out.”

Officials at Jersey City Medical Center said Thursday afternoon that 53 people were treated and released there, while another 13 were expected to remain in the hospital overnight. Carepoint Health Hoboken University Medical Center said it had treated 22 train passengers for injuries ranging from cuts and broken bones to minor bruises, and one passenger was treated at Christ Hospital in Jersey City.

Service to Hoboken Terminal still suspended

The Hoboken station is the terminus of the Pascack Valley line, which serves Rockland County, and the Main and Bergen Lines, which connect with Metro-North's Port Jervis Line, as well as a stop on the PATH train into Manhattan.

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The 7:23 train out of Spring Valley makes scheduled stops in Nanuet and Pearl River in Rockland County before heading on to New Jersey stops at the stations of Montvale, Park Ridge, Woodcliff Lake, Hillsdale, Westwood, Emerson, Oradell, River Edge, New Bridge Landing, Anderson Street, Essex Street, Teterboro, Wood-Ridge, and Secaucus Junction – a transfer point to midtown Manhattan – before terminating in Hoboken.

NJ Transit set up a hotline for people seeking information on the crash: (855) 336-1774. Rockland County officials provided a 24-hour number for counseling for "individuals and families affected by the train crash," at (845) 517-0400. The NTSB asked witnesses to email the agency at witness@ntsb.gov.

All NJ Transit service into and out of Hoboken Station remained suspended late Thursday afternoon and it was unclear when it would resume. Trains are running from Secaucus to points further up the line, including stations in Rockland. NJ Transit said its buses and private carriers are cross-honoring tickets and passes, along with Metro-North's Hudson Line.

Hoboken is NJ Transit’s fifth-busiest station with 15,000 boardings per weekday. More than 100,000 people use NJ Transit trains to commute from New Jersey into New York City daily.

Dinh-Zarr of the NTSB said her investigative team expected to remain on scene a week to 10 days, looking to understand not only what happened to the train but why. The agency's mission includes recommending changes to avoid future crashes.

A crash at the same station on a different train line injured more than 30 people in 2011. The PATH commuter train crashed into bumpers at the end of the tracks on a Sunday morning. Dinh-Zarr said Thursday that any similarities between the two crashes would be part of the investigation.

Journal News reporters Steve Lieberman and Thomas Zambito, the Bergen Record, The Associated Press and USA Today contributed to this report.

Twitter: @coynereports