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CNN NEWSROOM

Passenger Train Crashes in Hoboken, New Jersey. Aired 10:30-11a ET.

Aired September 29, 2016 - 10:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


[10:30:00] CAROL COSTELLO, CNN HOST: One witness just told me the doors of the train did not open. They actually had to knock out the emergency window and climb out of the window onto the platform. And when they got onto the platform, this is what they saw. They saw this damaged car. They saw the roof had collapsed in. They saw wires hanging everywhere and water dripping in. I have Mary Schiavo on the phone with me right now. She's an - she's an expert in all things that involve crashes. So, Mary, we're getting new information fast and furious. We know that train didn't slow down as it approached the station. We know the lights went out inside the car as it crashed. We now know at least one person has died. We know there are more than 100 injuries. This is a serious incident.

MARY SCHIAVO, FORMER INSPECTOR GENERAL, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION (via telephone): Very, very serious crash. And the eyewitnesses have given us many more clues as well. The gentleman who mentioned that he was in the fourth car and the first two cars were so crowded that he couldn't get in them even though he's usually there, he mentioned that this was a pusher train. That the engine was in the back, which would explain that now why we're seeing what we're seeing in this picture which is the crumpled front cars being passenger cars.

They would have taken the brunt of the impact. The forces of the train - there's the one law you can't break, and that's the law of physics. So the problem is these two cars would have hit - the passenger cars would have hit on the platform, the building, etc., and so that will help explain why there are over 100 injuries and at least one death. So that was some very good information to know and that the - not only the lights went out, but the doors wouldn't open lets us know that the train cars had come uncoupled and off the track because they had lost their power at that point. So all the way through the train assembly all of the cars hooked together, all of them suffered some sort of derailing, uncoupling, and damage. So he provided us an awful lot of information. It was very helpful.

COSTELLO: He did. He was a great guy and he's very shaken. He said he can't believe 100 people were injured. And I do believe everybody who witnessed this, who were involved, are in complete shock because you just don't expect this kind of thing to happen, even though, sadly, we know it does. I want to take our viewers back to the scene. CNN's producer Paul Murphy is there. What can you tell us, Paul?

PAUL MURPHY, CNN PRODUCER (via telephone): Hi Carol. I just talked with Michael Larson. He is a New Jersey transit employee who actually witnessed the crash and was able to tell me a lot about it. He went - he said that the train hit the concrete block with such force that was at the end of the track that it actually went airborne. And that in going airborne it hit the roof and it tore the roof and caused it to collapse. And he said that after he watched the train crash, he immediately ran into that first car and then seeing the first car, he said that the first half of the car the roof of the train was actually crushed down onto the seats. He said he rescued three or four people who were there and then the first responders showed up and he let them do their job. But he said the scene - like, he couldn't - he said he couldn't tell me how many people that had been trapped on that train in that first car because he said that he just couldn't even get into the first car because the roof was actually on top of the seats.

COSTELLO: Oh my goodness, so Paul - Paul, stop for a minute. I just want you to - because that's interesting and very sad information. So this witness said the train went airborne and then the roof of the station came down on top of that first train car. Is that what you said?

MURPHY: Actually, the train hit the concrete block at the end of the track with such force that it went airborne and hit the top of the roof and caused - causing, I believe in the video - I haven't seen it myself, but I've heard the descriptions. The video that we see where you have water and wires hanging down and the roof looks damaged, the train actually hit that concrete block with such force that it hit that roof, causing that damage and causing it to partially collapse.

COSTELLO: So how - how did this person get people off that first car?

MURPHY: He said that he just ran in and did what he could. He just ran in and tried - and grabbed people as he could to get them out. And then - he said - I asked, well how long did it take first responders to get here, and he said they were here immediately, which is very true, because as a transit employee in the greater New York area, there is always an amount of security here, so. He said as he was bringing people out the first responders were there and he kind of stepped aside and let them do their job.

COSTELLO: And he couldn't tell how many people were in that first car. I would suppose there were serious injuries to those if, you know, the train went airborne and the roof came down on top of that train car.

[10:35:06] MURPHY: Right. He was not able to really tell me how serious those injuries are. He said that they were pretty bad, but as far as, you know, what exactly that means, I would assume it's - if the train went airborne and the roof was on top of the seats for some of them, you know, I leave that up to, you know, the experts and the first responders to really tell us what those - the extant of those injuries are.

COSTELLO: All right, Paul. Paul, you standby on the phone. Of course people have been transported to the hospital all morning long because there are more than 100 injuries. With me now on the phone is Jarrod Bernstein. He's from the Hoboken University Hospital. Jared, what can you tell me about the injured coming into your facility? JARROD BERNSTEIN, HOBOKEN UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL (on the telephone): Thanks for having me on. This is Jarrod Bernstein from Care Point Health. We actually own and operate free of the area hospitals in Hudson County, New Jersey where this - where Hoboken is. So far at Care Point Health Hoboken University Medical Center, we've seen at least ten patients with more arriving and we've seen at least one patient at Care Point Health Christ Hospital, though we've been told to expect more there as well. And our third hospital, Care Point Health Family Medical Center is on standby for additional patients at this time.

COSTELLO: So are the patients coming in by ambulance or are they coming in some other way.

BERNSTEIN: So, most of the patients have arrived by ambulance from the scene. There is a fairly well orchestrated plan about how patients are sent where in order not to overwhelm any of the area emergency rooms. We have seen some wounded people who have walked from the scene, because we're only about five blocks - Hoboken University Medical Center is only about five or seven blocks from the crash site.

COSTELLO: And what kind of injuries are you seeing?

BERNSTEIN: You know, I wouldn't want to characterize them at this time, but they are - other than to say they're typical what you would see from this kind of a crash, you know. But I wouldn't want to go into sort of types of injuries at this point, just because we're still in the early stages of assessments of the patients.

COSTELLO: So what are your hospitals doing to prepare for this?

BERNSTEIN: So Hudson County, New Jersey has a fairly well thought out, fairly well practiced disaster plan for days like today. All of the area hospitals, regardless of who owns and operates them, work together, along with our EMS partners and Jersey City Medical Center EMS and Bayonne Medical, and McCabe Ambulance EMS, as well as the other cities like Union City; Rush, New York; Cottonfield; Weehawken; they actually have a plan to both surge resources to the scene and distribute patients throughout the Hudson County region to make sure no one hospital and no one ambulance service is overwhelmed and keep up with the regular daily traffic that comes with being a hospital and running an emergency department. And so that plan is in operation, it's functioning. You know, it's a very sad and troubling day, but we're - you know, we're working through the plan and making sure we take care of people as they arrive.

COSTELLO: Thank you, Jarrod, for joining me this morning. I do appreciate it. I'll let you get back to work. Thanks for joining me. I'm going to take a quick break. We'll be back with much more from Hoboken after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:40:00] COSTELLO: All right, we begin our coverage this morning with breaking news. Good morning. I'm Carol Costello. If you're just joining me, let me set the scene for you. A transit train has crashed into a platform in Hoboken, New Jersey. It happened during rush hour. There are reports of more than 100 people injured and, sadly, one person has reportedly died as a result of this train crash. I spoke to a passenger who was on board that train. He was in the third car. His name is Leon, and he shot this video which he did provide to us. Watch this video. This video was taken moments after the train crashed.

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COSTELLO: Incredible the damage, right? One witness on the scene told our CNN producer Paul Murphy that the train went into the station without slowing down. It hit a concrete block so hard that the train went airborne and hit the ceiling and parts of the ceiling came down on that first train car. And we do believe that's where most of the injuries occurred in that first and second car. The lights went out in the train, people were scrambling to get out. I talked with a man who was in the second car. He said the doors did not open on his car. He had to climb out the window after people poked it out. His name was Bhagyesh Shah. Listen to what he told me moments ago.

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VOICE OF BHAGYESH SHAH, PASSENGER ON TRAIN THAT CRASHED: You have no idea you're going to crash. Or at least I didn't notice it enough because it's my usual - usual train that I take to office. So for me it wasn't that concerning because I was not paying attention. But the next thing I know I am on the floor, and we are plowing through something, probably the pillars of the roof. And when the train came to a stop I could see the parts of the roof on the first car and I could see some of the debris next to me, or like 2 feet from me.

[10:45:00] COSTELLO (voice over): So did the lights go out in your car?

SHAH (voice over): Yes, yes, that's what I noticed first thing. You know, we were thrown off our feet. We were on - and I was lying on the floor when that was happening and what happened was the light went off. I was knocked over. I was hoping the train would stop now, but it just didn't stop. It kept going and going and going. And then at the end of - it felt like eternity. It probably was like three or four seconds or five seconds, but I don't know. I just - I can't account for that right now(ph).

COSTELLO: So, Bhagyesh, how many people were on that train car with you? Did you all just fall to the floor?

SHAH: It was, you know, it was full. The train was full. The first and second cars are usually full because, you know, people try - people are in a hurry. They want to get to the BART train. The BART train is closer to the first and second car so usually the first and second cars are the - people, you know, getting on(ph). So this day it was even more than usual. I generally stand at the end of the second car, but I was not able to do that because there were a lot of people there.

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COSTELLO: All right, Bhagyesh got out. He's safe and sound this morning and I presume he's at work, but he told me he's still shaken from this, because, you know, nobody expects this to happen. Especially, you know, with 100 people injured and one person dead in this accident. We also have some eyewitness accounts from a guy who was standing at the ticket counter when this crash happened. Let's listen to what he had to say.

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Things falling, people bleeding from the head or wherever and basically running away from the area where it was.

UNKNOWN FEMALE: Did you see people injured?

UNKNOWN MALE: Definitely, definitely, many many injuries.

UNKNOWN FEMALE: And did any of them appear to be passengers who were actually on board the train?

UNKNOWN MALE: Yes, there were certainly people being taken off the train which were on the train, which had different types of injuries.

UNKNOWN FEMALE: Can you describe where you were - I'm just joining in here. I'm with News12 - where you were when all this happened and what you saw?

UNKNOWN MALE: I was in the customer service office inside the terminal and I was speaking to a ticket agent, when this accident occurred. I heard the noise. Obviously, I ran out to see what was going on. And, yes, the train was - the train was through the terminal and into the wall and that's it.

UNKNOWN FEMALE: How did you get out? What was it like getting out?

UNKNOWN MALE: Well, I didn't leave immediately. I probably should have. But, you know, human nature is you want to help folks. You know, there's people that are hurt. You can't just walk away from that, or at least I can't just walk away from that. So I tried to assist until, you know, I mean there were transit authority workers there and they came right over as well. But you try to help folks, you know. People can't walk. A guys gotta, you know, his ankle is broken or whatever it is. So you help that person to an area where they can have a seat. People are in shock. There's things like that. You just try to help folks.

UNKNOWN FEMALE: How soon after did emergency responders show up?

UNKNOWN MALE: They were there, I have to tell you, within minutes.

UNKNOWN FEMALE: And how many people would you say you saw injured(ph)?

UNKNOWN MALE: Oh, I can't give you a number. There were just people all over. There was a lot of injuries. There were so many.

UNKNOWN FEMALE: Did anything in your life ever get you ready for something like this?

UNKNOWN MALE: No, no, I honestly have to say no. You know, you know, you're just going to work. people are just going and doing their daily routine. You never expect things like this to happen ever. You know, and whatever the cause was, whatever the reasoning was, you know, it happened and it's a very, very unfortunate thing. Hopefully, most of the folks, maybe it's minor injuries, maybe these folks will be fine. But it's, you know, you have to - you get on a train every day or you get on a bus or you get on a plane. You never think things like this happen. You just don't think it's going to happen. You know, you put your faith in the folks that are doing their jobs. That's what you do.

UNKNOWN FEMALE: And we're now hearing three people were killed. Your reaction to that?

UNKNOWN MALE: I can't - I can't say. I did not see anything, but I can tell you that by the look of the way the train was and the way that the roof was, it's no(ph). I would have to say that, you know, if folks didn't make it it's horrible.

UNKNOWN FEMALE: Can you describe (--)

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COSTELLO: All right, you heard from the eyewitness there. CNN has confirmed only one death so far in this accident and more than 100 - and 100 more injuries. Of course, the fatality rate could go up but we just have not confirmed it for ourselves at this time. Many, many investigative units on the scene and emergency personnel. Brynn Gingras has that part of the story.

BRYNN GINGRAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Right. We knew MTSB was standing by and at this point we know now they are fully investigating this particular crash. And we know there's, as you mentioned, other agencies also involved. The Federal Railroad Administration has investigators en route. We know New Jersey Transit Authorities are there. We know Port Authority police are there who don't typically respond to New Jersey transit type crashes. It's not their territory, but they're helping out. We also know the FDNY has sent mutual aid. So Jean Casarez is on the scene. She was talking about all the fire trucks and all these investigators that she can see. It is a huge, huge response in Hoboken right now.

[10:50:00] As far as injuries, you mentioned 100+ injuries, one person dead. And just talking about the hospitals, we talked to that gentleman who said he received 10 at Hoboken Hospital, but Jersey City Medical Center is a little bit further away and they received the more brunt of - the patients that are injured more severely. So certainly we'll probably hear a lot more coming from them.

COSTELLO: I heard Jean Casarez say earlier that she didn't see many ambulance transporting ambulance from the scene. But that's because, as Jarrod Bernstein pointed out, the guy from the hospital, he said many of the people are just walking to the hospital. A lot of walking wounded coming in.

GINGRAS: Yes.

COSTELLO: Because it's close to the train station.

GINGRAS: Hoboken Hospital is close to the train station, but again Jersey State Medical Center would have had to been transported but that is a little bit further away. Remember, we're about two hours after this crash happened, so those people likely transported immediately as we know the response there in Hoboken is fast.

COSTELLO: OK, standby, Brynn. I want to go back to Mary Schiavo. Mary, we've been hearing from all of these witnesses that this train did not slow down as it approached the station. It ran into some sort of concrete block. One witness said the train actually went airborne and hit the roof of the station and the roof came crashing down on top of that first car. So how fast might this train have been going?

SCHIAVO: Very fast. The fact that the train - now we don't know what airborne means, but the fact that it hit the end - the endcap, the brace at the end of the track where the train stops, he said he saw it hit that barricade. To hit it with such force that it jumps over that (--)

COSTELLO: Hey, Mary, Mary, we have an official now with the Transit Authority. Let's listen.

MIKE LARSON, NJ TRANSIT EMPLOYEE WHO WITNESSED CRASH: I can't tell you now what exactly happened and why he didn't stop in time, but apparently he just - it may have been a medical condition, no one knows why.

UNKNOWN MALE: But was it going as slowly as it normally goes?

LARSON: No, no. It was going considerably faster than it should have normally been at the terminal. That's where it comes to a stop. It usually comes to a complete stop about 10 to 20 feet before the bumper block. He went completely through the bumper block, through the depot, and you know.

UNKNOWN MALE: What's the velocity?

UNKNOWN: (INAUDIBLE) information. You told us it happened right in front of your eyes?

LARSON: I never said(ph). Well it was about 30 feet away. It was about 30 feet away and my recollection was I - I saw, actually I heard a bomb-like explosion and I was maybe not concentrating right on it, I was looking in this direction. As soon as I heard it, it was right there in front of me. It went through the bumper block, flew through the air, through the depot, and into the waiting - well, came to rest just before the (--)

UNKNOWN MALE: And when you saw it what was going through your mind when you see this type of image right in front of you?

LARSON: I mean, not good things that's for sure. I mean, it was (--) Pardon?

UNKNOWN MALE: Was there a warning at all or a horn or anything like that?

LARSON: No. The first thing I heard was the explosion of him hitting the bumper block and the changes(ph) flying through the air.

UNKNOWN MALE: What is the velocity on the rail line as it comes in normally would you say and how would you compare it to today's train?

LARSON: Oh, I don't know. I'm not a physicist. As far as velocity(--)

UNKNOWN MALE: But it was dramatically faster?

LARSON: Well, it was definitely faster than it should have been, you know. Like I said, I can't make an estimation on the miles per hour, but it was obviously, given, you know, where it landed and the damage that it had created, it was going faster than it should have.

UNKNOWN MALE: And what were the people saying immediately after the crash that were inside the train that you crossed paths with.

LARSON: Well, there weren't very many. They were all in shock. A lot of them were injured. We tried to tell them to stay on the train because what a lot of people don't realize is if the electrical cat area(ph) wire lands on the top of a train and you exit it and put your foot on the ground, you'll be electrocuted.

UNKNOWN MALE: You immediately were concerned for the passenger's safety?

LARSON: Yes, they were kicking out the windows and trying to get off the train. I was trying to tell them, stay on - the safest place at that point is to stay on the train until we can assure all the power is taken off. Then we could start getting them off the train.

UNKNOWN MALE: So this was an electric line train that was coming?

LARSON: Well, no, it was a diesel, but there is cat - electric catenary as well, both.

UNKNOWN MALE: Mike, did you when - did you see it coming down the track? Did you know it was going too fast?

LARSON: I didn't see it coming down the track. I caught it right out of part of me - out of the peripheral of my eye. It was - just came into my, boom, when it hit the bumper block right there.

UNKNOWN MALE: Can you give us a perspective of about how much damage that area - routinely as in terms of size and how much damage is now engulfing what is - used to be the Hoboken Train Station? [10:54:58] LARSON: Well, it was only track, one train, but, I mean,

it did considerable structural damage to the whole roof. I mean, at this point, we really don't know. I mean, you'd have to get the train back out of there, look at the structural damage. You know, we couldn't stay there for more than about 20 minutes, half an hour, and then they made us leave the area completely. So the train was still there, they still hadn't extracted all the people, there was a lot of unanswered questions when I left.

UNKNOWN MALE: And there wasn't any work or anything done on this track in the last few days or anything recently?

LARSON: No, no. This track, as far as I know, was in perfect working order. It's used every day. And I couldn't tell you, I really don't know why he came in so quickly. I could only speculate it was a medical condition, a heart attack, something.

UNKNOWN MALE: Did you see the engineer at all exit the train?

LARSON: There was no way. There was no way you could get near the engineer?

UNKNOWN MALE: Would you describe a couple minutes after the crash what the situation was like?

LARSON: Well, it was pretty chaotic. I mean, it was frightening. It was, as you would imagine, anybody who stands right in front of a train crash, you know, it's pretty horrifying.

UNKNOWN MALE: Did you see it as well?

UNKNOWN MALE: No, I'm just supporting him. I work here, though. I can't describe it though.

LARSON: No, as far as the entire train is concerned, yes, most walked out under their own power. The first half of the first car took the most damage. That's where the injuries, possible fatalities, I don't know. I don't know.

UNKNOWN MALE: And usually how many people do you see - how many people typically are in those cars?

LARSON: During the rush hour, at this time of the day, it could be approximately 80, possibly less depending where it's coming from. It is rush hour.

UNKNOWN FEMALE: People in the aisles and stuff usually? Like people transfer, not in seats?

LARSON: No, no it's never really that crowded to where there's a need to stand in the aisles or vestibules.

UNKNOWN MALE: How many in the fire zone(ph)?

LARSON: I don't - six or seven, more than likely. UNKNOWN MALE: In your experience, the people in that carriage, given the speed of the train, they could be severely injured, but what's your estimate about the damage?

LARSO: Well, given - anyone who can look at the damage to the first half of that first car doesn't have to be a professional to know that there's some serious injuries going on.

UNKNOWN MALE: How many cars are damaged? The first car obviously, but is there damage in the second car?

LARSON: They haven't been inspected yet, but they're not (--)

UNKNOWN MALE: From what you saw?

LARSON: From what I saw, no. But there could be some underbody structural damage, but, you know, nothing nearly as severe as the first car.

UNKNOWN MALE: And where did the front car actually end up? Did it go over the end of the bumper onto another level within the train station?

LARSO: No, it's basically the same level. It went up and over the bumper block, through the depot which is a concourse for people to walk to the path to the ferry, and came to rest at the wall by the waiting room.

UNKNOWN MALE: So in the penetration of that depot wall that you just explained where there's a concourse there with other people, did you see any injuries on that side of that wall? Or did you able to see any kind of damage on that side when you were exiting?

LARSON: Which wall are you referring to?

UNKNOWN MALE: The one where you said the train goes through the bumper, hits the depot wall, and behind that wall is a concourse. Do you think there were people injured (--)?

LARSON: No, it goes through the concourse first. It hit a bumper block, goes through a concourse, then came to rest right at the wall that begins the end of the waiting area.

UNKNOWN MALE: So were there potential injuries on the concourse, or is it all on the train?

LARSON: There's potential injuries, I would imagine, on the concourse.

UNKNOWN FEMALE: I know that you were trying to help people. What did you see on that first car?

LARSON: Listen, I'd like to answer your questions, but I'm being told that I can't answer anymore questions. All right? I'm sorry about that.

UNKNOWN MALE: Your name, sir?

LARSON: Mike.

UNKNOWN FEMALE: Last name?

UNKNOWN MALE: How long have you worked for the rail?

LARSON: Twenty-nine years.

UNKNOWN MALE: How would you categorize today?

LARSON: One of the worst days I've ever seen.

UNKNOWN MALE: All right, that is Mike there. As you can see, he is now walking away. He was providing us with a lot of information.

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