In a tragic accident that occurred yesterday, a New Jersey Transit train crashed into a train station in Hoboken, New Jersey, injuring 108 people and claiming the life of one.

The aforementioned incident occurred at approximately 8:45 a.m on Thursday, September 29th. The NJ transit train had left a station in Spring Valley, New York at 7:23 a.m. and was scheduled to arrive at Hoboken’s Historic Terminal at 8:38 a.m. When the train did arrive in Hoboken, it crashed through several barriers before colliding with an interior wall. During the course of the accident, the train hit the platform and the canopy of the building fell on the controlling train car.

Among the 250 passengers on the train, over 100 were injured. The woman who died as a result of the accident was not a passenger on the train but was, in fact, standing on platform at the time of the accident. The deceased victim, who has been identified as 34-year-old Hoboken resident Fabiola Bittar de Kroon, was killed by falling debris. The injured victims were transported to medical centers in the surrounding areas to receive treatment. The Jersey City Medical Center reportedly received those who suffered serious or critical injuries.

Officials have yet to determine the cause of the accident, but the National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Railway Administration are currently investigating. The investigation is set to occur of the next 10 days, during which investigators will evaluate all potential causes, including mechanical malfunctions and negligence. Today, they recovered an event recorder from the train’s locomotive, which may provide key evidence related to the speed of the train, the position of the throttle, and the use of brakes before the devastating crash.

There are a host of factors which may have caused the recent Hoboken train crash, including negligence on the part of the train conductor or other train personnel, the manufacturer of the train or its parts, train maintenance crews, or those responsible for maintaining the safety of the train tracks. If an error by the conductor, an impediment of the tracks, failures of essential train machinery, or other factors were to blame for the accident, one or more parties may be held liable.

The results of this investigation remain to be seen; however, if some form of negligence is uncovered, those injured during the train accident may have grounds to pursue personal injury claims against the negligent party or parties. In addition, the family of the deceased victim may have grounds for a wrongful death lawsuit if the negligence of a person or company led to the accident that caused her death.

At the Morris County law offices of Smith & Doran, our highly skilled personal injury attorneys advocate for injured victims across New Jersey. We utilize decades of knowledge and experience to pursue maximum compensation for you and your loved ones. To learn more about how we can help you pursue damages if someone else’s negligence caused your injury, contact our Morristown offices today for a free consultation.

For additional information regarding this incident, access the following articles:

• 1 Dead in Crash of NJ Transit Train That Was Traveling at High Speed
• Hoboken train crash: Event recorder recovered