New York: A fast-moving commuter train crashed into a station in New Jersey at the height of Thursday's morning rush hour, killing a woman on the platform and injuring more than 100 people as it brought down part of the roof and scattered debris over the concourse.
About 8.45am the train rushed into the station, a hub for New Jersey commuters making their way into New York City, and failed to stop at the end of the platform. The crash occurred with such force it caused structural damage to the station, including a partial collapse of the ceiling.
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Train crashes into New Jersey station
At least one person is dead and scores injured, after a commuter train ploughed into Hoboken station in New Jersey during the morning rush hour.
One person was confirmed dead and 108 people were injured, some critically.
"It was going considerably faster than it should have been at the terminal. It usually comes to a complete stop 10 to 20 feet before the bumper bar," said Mike Larson, a New Jersey Transit Employee who witnessed the crash.
"I heard a bomb-like explosion... as soon as I heard it it was right there in front of me."
"I really don't know why he came in so quickly," said Mr Larson, speculating that perhaps the driver had experienced a medical problem that caused him to lose control. The driver was rescued from the crash. He was was injured and taken to a hospital but later released, officials said, without providing details of his injuries.
Local media identified the driver as Thomas Gallagher, citing unnamed sources, and said he was cooperating with investigators.
US National Transportation Safety Board vice chairman Bella Dinh-Zarr told a separate news conference in Hoboken that investigators would retrieve the event recorder, which tracks speed, braking and other data, from the rear of the train on Thursday night.
"It went up and over the bumper bar, through the depot... and came to rest at the wall in the waiting room," Mr Larson said.
Civilians and police rushed to assist the injured, both inside the train and on the platform.
The sole fatality occurred as a result of debris at the station. The New Jersey medical examiner's office identified the victim as Fabiola Bittar de Kroon, 34, of Hoboken. The woman was a former employee in the Brazilian legal department of SAP, the technology company said in a statement. Her LinkedIn page said she was a corporate lawyer who attended Florida International University.
New Jersey Governor Chris Christie said the cause of the crash was not yet clear but confirmed the train came into the station at an unusually high speed.
"This train came in at a high rate of speed in to the station and crashed through all the barriers bringing it right to the interior wall of the Hoboken terminal," Governor Christie said.
"We have no evidence that this is anything other than a tragic accident."
The crash renews focus on the mandatory anti-collision system that has been plagued with lengthy, contentious delays. According to a report by NJ Transit to the Federal Railroad Administration for the first half of 2016, the public transport system does not have PTC in operation on its 524-kilometre network.
New Jersey Transit ranked second for the most train accident reports nationwide for commuter railroads from January 2007 through June 2016, behind Amtrak.
New Jersey Transit had 271 accidents, or 18 per cent of the total, compared to Amtrak's 44 per cent, according to data from the US Federal Railroad Administration Office of Safety Analysis.
Jason Danahy was on the train and said it was filled with commuters and pulling into the station when it abruptly came to a halt.
"From the fifth car, it felt like a major skid," he said. "A creaking noise and a skid. I was lucky to be on the fifth car."
When he got off the train, it was chaotic in the station.
"I saw bloody noses," he said. "I saw people crying."
Train crashes into New Jersey station leaving 3 dead. Video taken by commuter Ben Fairclough https://t.co/0i7KNVBMvD https://t.co/QpKJRcGamk
— BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) September 29, 2016
Amy Krulewitz, who commutes from Hackensack, New Jersey, into Manhattan, was riding in the fourth car of the train.
The train "wobbled", she said, "then, boom!". She said the front car was "crumpled".
Emerging from the Jersey City Medical Centre with a slight limp and what she said was a twisted ankle, Ms Krulewitz said she had felt "how the train was going off the tracks."
"I was stunned," she said.
People in her car immediately checked on one another after the impact, she said.
A spokesman for the Federal Railroad Administration, Matthew Lehner, said the agency was aware of the crash and had investigators on their way.
The station is a hub for commuters switching from the NJ Transit system to the PATH system to head into Manhattan.
Hoboken, which is New Jersey Transit's fifth-busiest station, 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.
with New York Times, AP