In Hoboken, New Jersey, an NJ Transit train crash Thursday morning left at least one person dead and as many as 100 others injured at the height of rush hour.
Authorities thought operator error was behind the crash that occurred at 8:45 a.m., involving the Pascack Valley Line train from Spring Valley, WNBC-TV reported. One woman was killed while on the train's platform, which sustained extensive structural damage, sources told the television station.
The death count was unclear in early media reports, and multiple critical injuries were reported.
"Hospital officials initially reported two more deaths, though later clarified they had only received wounded patients," WNBC-TV reported.
It appeared that the train went through a bumper stop at the end of the track when it reached the Hoboken station and did not stop until it reached a covered area between the station's indoor waiting area and the platform, the station said.
The New York Times reported that rail service was suspended to and from the station as local buses and ferries accepted train tickets from NJ Transit in light of the accident. Federal Railroad Administration spokesman Matthew Lehner told the Times that personnel were on their way to open an investigation on the crash.
"I was entering the building downstairs and then next thing I know I hear a big rumble sound, like, doo doo doo doo doo and then I look back, I see smoke coming out of a building up here, I see people running across the street," Shawn Reyes, a contractor working on a restaurant remodel across the street from the train station, told NJ Advance Media.
Linda Albelli, 62, told Reuters that she was sitting in one of the rear cars when the train approached the station.
"I thought to myself, 'Oh my god, he's not slowing up, and this is where we're usually stop,'" Albelli told Reuters. "'We're going too fast,' and with that there was this tremendous crash."
Passengers assisted one another in getting off the train and crossing other tracks to the platform after the crash.
Passengers and others at the Hoboken terminal shared their pictures and videos on social media.