17 hurt after two trains collide in New Jersey
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The National Transportation Safety Board says it is sending a team to investigate the train collision.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Camille Baker
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NEW JERSEY – Seventeen people were injured when two trains collided on the evening of Dec 19 in New Jersey, a spokesman for NJ Transit said.
The crash between trains on the Montclair-Boonton Line, which resulted in a “minor derailment”, occurred at 6.47pm in Montclair, New Jersey, spokesman John Chartier said.
The injuries were not life-threatening, he added.
“Our primary focus during this incident is the safety of our passengers, our employees and our first responders,” said Mr Chartier.
The cause of the crash was not immediately clear. The National Transportation Safety Board said in a post on social media platform X that it was sending a team to investigate.
Ms Ashley Agudelo, 17, who lives with her family in a house bordering the railroad tracks, said she heard a commotion erupt when the collision happened.
“There was so much chaos and craziness,” she said. “We couldn’t go outside.”
NJ Transit chief executive Kris Kolluri was among the authorities at the site of the incident, Mr Chartier said.
Service on the Montclair-Boonton Line near Bay Street in Montclair was still suspended in both directions just before midnight, according to the transit agency’s website.
“The train is part of our lives,” Ms Agudelo said. “You hear about other derailments, but you never think something like this is going to happen right in front of you.” NYTIMES
