An NJ Transit train crashed at Hoboken Terminal Thursday morning, killing one person and injuring more than 100.
Pascack Valley Line train No. 1614, en route from Spring Valley, New York, crashed into the station around 8:45 a.m. Witnesses say the train was traveling at a high rate of speed prior to the crash.
The New Jersey Medical Examiner's Office identified the woman killed as 34-year-old Fabiola Bittar de Kroon. Hoboken Mayor Dawn Zimmer says de Kroon was a Hoboken resident. She was struck and killed by debris while standing on the station platform. She was not on the train at the time of the crash.
Officials say over 100 people were injured in the crash. Many sustained injuries that were not life-threatening, but several people remained in guarded condition at Jersey City Medical Center Thursday evening.
Train engineer Thomas Gallagher was also injured but was released from the hospital Thursday evening. He will be questioned by investigators, according to the National Transportation Safety Board Vice Chairwoman T. Bella Dinh-Zarr.
NJ Transit officials say Gallagher has been with the transit company for 29 years.
The crash caused heavy damage to the terminal, and Dinh-Zarr says the canopy of the station is resting on top of a train car. NTSB officials say there is a fear that there is asbestos contamination because of the age of the building. The station is over 100 years old.
PATH service to and from Hoboken Station was restored by Thursday afternoon. Travelers were asked to use the Hoboken City entrance at Hudson Place and River Street. New Jersey Transit rail service remains suspended in Hoboken. NJ Transit and the MTA released a series of contingency plans for the evening and morning commutes.
Gov. Chris Christie says there's no indication so far that the crash was anything but a "tragic accident," but he noted it was too early to make assumptions. NTSB investigators are trying to determine a cause.
The train was not equipped with a positive train control system, technology designed to slow speeding trains. U.S. railroads are under government orders to install PTC systems, but the deadline to do so has been repeatedly extended and is now Dec. 31, 2018.