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| Chaos at Hoboken Station After Train ‘Flew Through the Air’ | Chaos at Hoboken Station After Train ‘Flew Through the Air’ |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| HOBOKEN, N.J. — The train just did not stop. | HOBOKEN, N.J. — The train just did not stop. |
| The New Jersey Transit train, No. 1614, did not stop at 8:45 a.m. on Thursday, when it was scheduled to halt at the train station here at the height of rush hour. It did not stop when it slammed into a concrete and metal barrier at the end of Track 5. And it did not stop as it roared across the concourse and through the station’s structural supports, leaving in its wake a mess of tangled metal and debris, at least one person dead and scores of injured and badly shaken commuters, and a host of questions about what might have caused the fatal crash. | The New Jersey Transit train, No. 1614, did not stop at 8:45 a.m. on Thursday, when it was scheduled to halt at the train station here at the height of rush hour. It did not stop when it slammed into a concrete and metal barrier at the end of Track 5. And it did not stop as it roared across the concourse and through the station’s structural supports, leaving in its wake a mess of tangled metal and debris, at least one person dead and scores of injured and badly shaken commuters, and a host of questions about what might have caused the fatal crash. |
| In more than two decades working as a New Jersey Transit employee, Michael Larson said he had never seen anything like it — a train car weighing some 100,000 pounds flying off the tracks into a busy station. | In more than two decades working as a New Jersey Transit employee, Michael Larson said he had never seen anything like it — a train car weighing some 100,000 pounds flying off the tracks into a busy station. |
| “The first thing I heard was the explosion of it hitting the bumper block,” he said, describing how the train “flew through the air” and then crashed through the concourse, causing the roof to collapse on top of it. “The first half of the first car took most of the damage.” | “The first thing I heard was the explosion of it hitting the bumper block,” he said, describing how the train “flew through the air” and then crashed through the concourse, causing the roof to collapse on top of it. “The first half of the first car took most of the damage.” |
| Mr. Larson had only one word for the scene: “Horrifying.” | Mr. Larson had only one word for the scene: “Horrifying.” |
| As frightening as it looked from the outside, passengers inside the train described how confusion and chaos were made all the more frightening because they were plunged into darkness at the moment of impact. | As frightening as it looked from the outside, passengers inside the train described how confusion and chaos were made all the more frightening because they were plunged into darkness at the moment of impact. |
| The train left Spring Valley, N.Y., at 7:23 a.m., and commuters said nothing seemed out of the ordinary as they approached Hoboken Terminal. | The train left Spring Valley, N.Y., at 7:23 a.m., and commuters said nothing seemed out of the ordinary as they approached Hoboken Terminal. |
| In fact, many said they did not know anything was wrong until they were thrown from their feet. | In fact, many said they did not know anything was wrong until they were thrown from their feet. |
| Then, in the darkness, all they could hear at first were screams of agony. Slowly, the scope of the devastation came into focus for those on board, with witnesses describing how people — some unconscious — were trapped in the debris and others were staggering away from the scene, covered in dust and blood. | Then, in the darkness, all they could hear at first were screams of agony. Slowly, the scope of the devastation came into focus for those on board, with witnesses describing how people — some unconscious — were trapped in the debris and others were staggering away from the scene, covered in dust and blood. |
| Bhagyesh Shah, who was in the second car, is one of many commuters who prefer to be as close to the front of the train as possible so they can quickly exit and make their way to the PATH train into Manhattan. | |
| “We were thrown off our feet,” Mr. Shah told reporters. “The train just didn’t stop. It just kept going and going and going.” | |
| When the train finally came to halt, he scrambled out of an emergency window. While others in the second car got out, he said, many in the first car appeared to have been seriously injured. | When the train finally came to halt, he scrambled out of an emergency window. While others in the second car got out, he said, many in the first car appeared to have been seriously injured. |
| At least one woman was killed, according to the authorities, and dozens more were wounded, some critically. | At least one woman was killed, according to the authorities, and dozens more were wounded, some critically. |
| Nassima Toumi, who is nine months pregnant, had stopped for a coffee on her way to work as a personal trainer at Crunch when she heard the commotion from the terminal. She went looking for her husband, who was headed for the light rail, and saw him in tears. | Nassima Toumi, who is nine months pregnant, had stopped for a coffee on her way to work as a personal trainer at Crunch when she heard the commotion from the terminal. She went looking for her husband, who was headed for the light rail, and saw him in tears. |
| “My husband was there crying,” Ms. Toumi said. “He’s a big guy and not that emotional.” | “My husband was there crying,” Ms. Toumi said. “He’s a big guy and not that emotional.” |
| Then she saw bodies strewn on the ground and shot some video with her phone. The video shows a woman lying on the ground, not breathing, with a leg split open, Ms. Toumi said. She said she saw a man walking by “all covered with blood all over and his eye is gone.” | Then she saw bodies strewn on the ground and shot some video with her phone. The video shows a woman lying on the ground, not breathing, with a leg split open, Ms. Toumi said. She said she saw a man walking by “all covered with blood all over and his eye is gone.” |
| “It was very scary,” she added. | “It was very scary,” she added. |
| Jason Danahy, who was in the back car, said he did not realize anything was wrong until the moment of impact. Where he was, he said, it felt like a “skid” and it was not until he got off the train that he realized the severity of the crash. | Jason Danahy, who was in the back car, said he did not realize anything was wrong until the moment of impact. Where he was, he said, it felt like a “skid” and it was not until he got off the train that he realized the severity of the crash. |
| “You could see the first car touching the waiting room,” he said, adding that “the second car is sort of like wedged up” onto the concourse. | “You could see the first car touching the waiting room,” he said, adding that “the second car is sort of like wedged up” onto the concourse. |
| People on that car were scrambling to get out of the windows, he said, even as electrical wires hung precariously from the collapsed ceiling. | People on that car were scrambling to get out of the windows, he said, even as electrical wires hung precariously from the collapsed ceiling. |
| “I saw a lot of people crying,” he said. | “I saw a lot of people crying,” he said. |
| Camille Marino, 21, was on a nearby platform with her headphones in. The first thing she saw was “people running everywhere.” | Camille Marino, 21, was on a nearby platform with her headphones in. The first thing she saw was “people running everywhere.” |
| As she turned the corner into the station, she saw that “the entire train went through the building.” | As she turned the corner into the station, she saw that “the entire train went through the building.” |
| “I saw this older man, his head was like bashed in, totally bloody,” she said. | “I saw this older man, his head was like bashed in, totally bloody,” she said. |
| Mr. Larson described how he and other transit workers, joined by commuters, rushed to help the injured, some of whom were buried in the rubble. | Mr. Larson described how he and other transit workers, joined by commuters, rushed to help the injured, some of whom were buried in the rubble. |
| Twenty minutes after the crash, he was told the building was not structurally sound and was evacuated. There were still people trapped, he said. | Twenty minutes after the crash, he was told the building was not structurally sound and was evacuated. There were still people trapped, he said. |
| Shortly before noon, officials said all of the victims had been extricated. | Shortly before noon, officials said all of the victims had been extricated. |
| The cause of the crash was under investigation but officials said there was no immediate indication that it was anything other than accidental. | The cause of the crash was under investigation but officials said there was no immediate indication that it was anything other than accidental. |
| William Blaine had just gotten off a train and was at Dunkin’ Donuts when he heard what he initially feared was a bomb. | William Blaine had just gotten off a train and was at Dunkin’ Donuts when he heard what he initially feared was a bomb. |
| “I was just looking at the menu when I heard a ka-boom,” he told reporters. “For a few seconds later it got all quiet. The first thing you think was it was a terrorist; that’s how it’s going in this country.” | “I was just looking at the menu when I heard a ka-boom,” he told reporters. “For a few seconds later it got all quiet. The first thing you think was it was a terrorist; that’s how it’s going in this country.” |
| Mr. Blaine, a train engineer at Norfolk Southern, said some images would haunt him. | Mr. Blaine, a train engineer at Norfolk Southern, said some images would haunt him. |
| “I was stepping over a dead woman’s body,” he said. He saw two more seriously wounded people, both with head gashes. | “I was stepping over a dead woman’s body,” he said. He saw two more seriously wounded people, both with head gashes. |
| And then he caught a glimpse of someone in the front cab, most likely the train’s engineer, “slumped over.” | |
| Officials said the engineer survived the crash and was being treated at a hospital. |