HOBOKEN — The data recorder on the train that crashed into the platform in Hoboken on Thursday morning was not working, so it won’t provide any answers for the federal National Transportation Safety Board investigation that started last week.
“Unfortunately, the event recorder was not functioning during this trip,” said NTSB Vice Chairman Bella Dinh-Zarr on Sunday.
The data recorder was over 20 years old. However, there may be a newer recorder in another car.
Officials told the press that investigators have to be careful because the accident scene is still being secured.
Train engineer Thomas Gallagher told the NTSB that the train entered the Hoboken station at 10 mph, officials said. However, he did not remember the impact, he said.
Witnesses said the train entered at a higher rate of speed than normal.
Investigators said Gallagher said he was fully rested the day of the crash, and that his cell phone was turned off.
Sources told the media that New Jersey Transit was under audit by the Federal Railroad Administration months before the crash.
Vigil planned
Meanwhile, a vigil is being planned for this week for the mom who was killed by debris while walking across the platform when the train hit. Fabiola de Kroon, 34, a native of Brazil, dropped her 18-month-old daughter off at day care near the light rail station on Ninth Street, then went to the terminal to take the PATH train to work in Brooklyn. Her husband, Daan, was on a work trip in Massachusetts, but rushed home to get the couple’s daughter when he heard. He called the day care around 11 a.m. to tell them that he would pick their daughter up.
Daan told the New York Times that he was struggling with how to tell their daughter what had happened.
The day care center, Smart Start Academy on Ninth Street, was planning a vigil for 7:30 p.m. this coming Thursday at Columbus Park, the park near the couple’s west side home that is popular with toddlers. Watch for updates.
Members of a local moms group also offered to help with childcare and to set up a Gofundme account, but details were not final by Sunday.
Monday morning commute
For those working on the Jewish holiday on Monday, or hoping to use NJ Transit commuter train lines, keep in mind that they were suspended from Hoboken station last week. For updates and alerts on the lines, click here. However, the PATH service underground, as well as light rail service outside of the station, has resumed.