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| New York commuter train crashes into car, killing at least 6 | New York commuter train crashes into car, killing at least 6 |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| A commuter train crashed into a car that was stopped at a railroad crossing in Valhalla, N.Y., on Tuesday evening, killing at least six people and injuring more than 12 others. | |
| The northbound Metro-North Railroad train, which had departed from New York City’s Grand Central Terminal, smashed into a black Jeep Cherokee at about 6:30 p.m. local time at the Commerce Street crossing in Valhalla, about 25 miles from Manhattan in Westchester County. The Jeep’s driver and five passengers on the train were killed, making the crash the railroad’s deadliest. | The northbound Metro-North Railroad train, which had departed from New York City’s Grand Central Terminal, smashed into a black Jeep Cherokee at about 6:30 p.m. local time at the Commerce Street crossing in Valhalla, about 25 miles from Manhattan in Westchester County. The Jeep’s driver and five passengers on the train were killed, making the crash the railroad’s deadliest. |
| Officials had originally said a total of seven people were killed, but they revised the total downward on Wednesday morning. “That was actually good news,” New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) told “CBS This Morning.” | |
| The scene of the accident, Cuomo said Wednesday, “was as gruesome as I have seen.” That the number of casualties wasn’t higher, he said, “is actually amazing to me. You had about 700 people on that train.” | |
| Fifteen people suffered injuries, Cuomo said, adding that “seven of those injuries are very serious.” | |
| The National Transportation Safety Board deployed a team on Wednesday to investigate the accident. | |
| Metropolitan Transportation Authority spokesman Aaron Donovan told The Washington Post that the railroad crossing gates came down on the SUV, which was stopped on the tracks. The driver, a woman, got out and walked around to check out the back of the vehicle. Then she got back in and drove forward. That’s when the vehicle was hit by the train. | |
| Asked whether the SUV was stranded or merely stopped on the tracks, Donovan said the circumstances surrounding the collision are still unclear and will be part of a formal investigation. | |
| Passengers told local news outlets they heard a “loud bam” and felt a bump. The SUV was shoved some 10 train car lengths. An orange blaze erupted from the vehicle and the front of train. Smoke billowed up from the crash site, which was blanketed with white snow, and the stench of gasoline hung in the air. The scene was described as a “fireball moving along the tracks.” | Passengers told local news outlets they heard a “loud bam” and felt a bump. The SUV was shoved some 10 train car lengths. An orange blaze erupted from the vehicle and the front of train. Smoke billowed up from the crash site, which was blanketed with white snow, and the stench of gasoline hung in the air. The scene was described as a “fireball moving along the tracks.” |
| Michael McGuinn, 22, who works nearby, told the New York Times he heard the collision and then saw sparks spewing from the train. He said the train pulled its brakes and the vehicle caught fire. | Michael McGuinn, 22, who works nearby, told the New York Times he heard the collision and then saw sparks spewing from the train. He said the train pulled its brakes and the vehicle caught fire. |
| “I knew immediately that it was a car and that it was going to be really bad,” he said. | “I knew immediately that it was a car and that it was going to be really bad,” he said. |
| Cuomo said a rail track shot up in the explosion and went through the floor of the SUV. | Cuomo said a rail track shot up in the explosion and went through the floor of the SUV. |
| “This is a truly ugly and brutal sight,” he said. | “This is a truly ugly and brutal sight,” he said. |
| Hundreds onboard the train were evacuated through the rear, some escaping the train by climbing down ladders. | Hundreds onboard the train were evacuated through the rear, some escaping the train by climbing down ladders. |
| “I was trapped. You know there was people in front of me and behind me and I was trapped in the middle of a car and it was getting very hot,” Justin Kaback, who was on his way home to Danbury, Conn., told ABC News. “All the air was turned off so there was no circulation so it was definitely scary especially when people are walking by on the outside and they said, ‘The train’s on fire, there’s a fire.’” | |
| Jamie Wallace, a passenger from Ridgefield, Conn., was in the second train car when the engine died. He told the Wall Street Journal the train went eerily silent. Then, some started yelling: “Fire!” | Jamie Wallace, a passenger from Ridgefield, Conn., was in the second train car when the engine died. He told the Wall Street Journal the train went eerily silent. Then, some started yelling: “Fire!” |
| “We were able to break the emergency glass and use the emergency door to get out,” he said. | “We were able to break the emergency glass and use the emergency door to get out,” he said. |
| Soon, McGuinn told the New York Times, he heard passengers moaning, climbing from the train. “I just saw a lot of dazed and confused people,” he added. “They all looked shellshocked.” | |
| Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino told Newsday he had “never seen anything like it.” | Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino told Newsday he had “never seen anything like it.” |
| “The whole front car of the train is melted inside from the flames, and the third rail actually came up from underneath the train, through the whole car,” he said. “I’m amazed that anyone got out alive.” | “The whole front car of the train is melted inside from the flames, and the third rail actually came up from underneath the train, through the whole car,” he said. “I’m amazed that anyone got out alive.” |
| On average, the train holds about 650 passengers, Donovan said. He did not say how many were packed on Tuesday night’s train, but after the evacuation, some 400 were reportedly taken to a nearby rock-climbing gym for shelter. Those who were injured were then transported to nearby Westchester Medical Center. | On average, the train holds about 650 passengers, Donovan said. He did not say how many were packed on Tuesday night’s train, but after the evacuation, some 400 were reportedly taken to a nearby rock-climbing gym for shelter. Those who were injured were then transported to nearby Westchester Medical Center. |
| The crash comes after several other Metro-North accidents in the past few years. The National Transportation Safety Board faulted the railroad late last year for five crashes that occurred in New York and Connecticut in 2013 and 2014, according to the Associated Press. | The crash comes after several other Metro-North accidents in the past few years. The National Transportation Safety Board faulted the railroad late last year for five crashes that occurred in New York and Connecticut in 2013 and 2014, according to the Associated Press. |
| Metro-North’s last fatal accident was Dec. 1, 2013, in the Bronx. The board said the train’s engineer fell asleep and the train derailed. Four people were killed in the accident. | Metro-North’s last fatal accident was Dec. 1, 2013, in the Bronx. The board said the train’s engineer fell asleep and the train derailed. Four people were killed in the accident. |
| The morning after the latest fatal crash, Cuomo told CBS that it’s “too early to say if there’s anything to learn here. If there was an engineer problem or a train problem or an equipment problem, we’ll learn from it. But sometimes there are just accidents. Sometimes people get themselves in bad situations. So I think it’s too soon to say what’s to blame or who’s to blame, but if there’s anything to learn, we will learn it. Because safety is number one, and we want to make sure that everyone feels safe when they’re getting on that commuter train.” | |
| U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said the Metropolitan Transportation Authority has promised a full investigation. | |
| “Our hearts go out to those lost, we pray for those injured and our hats are tipped to the brave first responders who came to the scene of this tragic crash so quickly,” he said in a statement. “At this early stage, it is premature to point any fingers of blame, but there are many important questions that must be answered in the coming days.” | “Our hearts go out to those lost, we pray for those injured and our hats are tipped to the brave first responders who came to the scene of this tragic crash so quickly,” he said in a statement. “At this early stage, it is premature to point any fingers of blame, but there are many important questions that must be answered in the coming days.” |
| [This story has been updated.] | [This story has been updated.] |