A Long Island train crashed at Atlantic Terminal in Brooklyn on Wednesday morning rush, hurling more than 100 passengers onto the floor and slamming them into each other.
Officials said around 103 people were injured, when the six coach train from far Rockaway struck the bumping block at the terminal's track 6 around 8:30 a.m. The train went up and over the block; the impact knocked down the wheels of the first coach and one other axle off the rails, MTA Chairman Tom Prendergast said at the scene.
The front of the slowly moving train hit the bumping block as it pulled into Atlantic Terminal in Brooklyn, left the tracks and smashed into a small structure, apparently a work area. A rail pierced the floor of a train car, authorities said.
Some of the injured people were removed on stretchers. Some were in shock, and few others sat on the pavement outside, bleeding, holding ice packs on their heads, rising and limping away with help from rescuers.
"The entire building started to shake," said Steben Medina, who was drinking coffee at the terminal, when he heard the crash and screams. "I thought a bomb blast had occurred off or something."
Democratic Mayor Mayor Bill de Blasio said the most serious injury, appeared to be a fractured leg.
Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo said: "Luckily ... all things considered, this was a relatively minor accident."
The railway terminal is just beneath a shopping mall in downtown Brooklyn, which is right next to the Barclays Center, which is home to Brooklyn Nets basketball, New York Islanders hockey and major concerts.
A similar accident in New Jersey, in September 2016 was much worse. A New Jersey Transit commuter train had plunged to the end of a track, killing a woman who was standing in the station. Federal investigators are investigating whether if more modern bumper or other barriers would have made a difference.
The Long Island Rail Road is the America’s largest commuter rail system, which serves around 330,000 passengers everyday.
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