One killed, over 100 injured as train crashes into Hoboken train station
Three people were killed and over 100 injured on Thursday when a NJ Transit train running on the Pascack Valley line slammed into the terminus of its Hoboken train station track during the Thursday morning commute and ripped through the platform, causing serious damage to the terminal facilities, and forcing suspension of service in and out of Hoboken on the PATH and NJ Transit trains, including the Hudson-Bergen Light Rail.
Ambulances streamed into the crash site from areas as far away as Union and Essex County and the injured were being transported to all available nearby hospitals.
Photos on social media show part of the train inside the building, with metal and bricks collapsing around it. Photos on social media show part of the station’s roof collapsed.
The commuter train was heading into Hoboken from the suburbs of Bergen County in New Jersey and Rockland County, NY, according to preliminary reports. Passengers heading to work in New York City often take the train to Hoboken, where they can switch to a PATH train into New York.
This is second crash of NJ Transit equipment this week. On Monday two NJ Transit buses collided in the Lincoln Tunnel, injuring approximately 40 people, when one driver allegedly made an illegal lane change in the path of another bus that smashed into the rear end of the first.
Suspect arrested in man’s death
Thomas Longobardi, 50, last known address Bayonne, was arrested Sept. 22 by Bayonne Police and charged with three counts in connection with the death of a man in West New York, according to a release from Hudson County Prosecutor Esther Suarez.
According to the release, on Sept. 21 at around 6:30 p.m. police were called to 5608 Palisade Ave., West New York by the building superintendent who found Randall Goya, 57, dead in the man’s apartment. The death was labeled as suspicious, the prosecutor said, and her office’s Homicide Unit investigated.
Longobardi has been charged with first degree murder, third degree possession of a weapon for unlawful purpose, and fourth degree possession of a weapon. His bail has been set at $1 million, cash only, and he has been detained in the Hudson County Correctional Facility.
The Regional Medical Examiner’s Office has determined the cause of Goya’s death was multiple injuries to the upper body, according to the prosecutor’s release, and the medical examiner classified the death as a homicide.
Anyone with information is asked to contact the prosecutor’s office at (201) 915-1345 or to leave an anonymous tip on the prosecutor’s office website at http://www.hudsoncountyprosecutorsofficenj.org/homicide-tip.
Driver ticketed in Lincoln Tunnel crash that injured 44
A bus driver has been ticketed after two NJ Transit buses headed into Port Authority Bus Terminal collided in the Lincoln Tunnel on Monday, injuring 44 people, according to several media reports.
Port Authority Superintendent Michael Fedorko said a bus in the left lane made a quick shift into the right lane, and the bus coming up behind did not have time to stop.
Authorities say a bus on the 127 line from Ridgefield with 33 passengers on board rear-ended a bus on the 128 line from North Hudson Park in Fairview just before 9 a.m. The second bus was full, with 56 passengers on board.
First responders set up a triage area outside the tunnel, where they were better able to treat the injured. Officials say 34 people refused medical attention.
Ten passengers were taken to area hospitals, with the most significant injuries being a broken jaw and broken arm. One of the passengers had a preexisting brain injury that resulted in a seizure.
All lanes in the center tube were temporarily closed as a result of the crash. Both buses were removed by 10:25 a.m., but motorists heading into New York City faced major delays of up to two hours.
Three summonses were issued to the driver in the first bus for improper lane change, careless driving and unsafe lane change.
The Port Authority says 42 million vehicles use the tunnel every year.
Roque agrees to be U.S. representative for Cuban women’s group
Berta Soler, the leader of the women in white movement in Cuba (Damas de Blanco), visited the Town of West New York, on Wednesday Sept. 28, to meet with Mayor Felix Roque to offer the mayor the position to be their representative here in the United States. Town spokesperson Mapi Montero confirmed that Roque has accepted the offer. Soler’s trip was sponsored by the Cuban Information Center.
Damas de Blanco is an opposition movement in Cuba founded in 2003 by wives and other female relatives of jailed dissidents. The women protest the imprisonments by attending Mass each Sunday wearing white dresses and then silently walking through the streets dressed in white clothing. The color white is chosen to symbolize peace.
The movement received the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought from the European Parliament in 2005.