Hoboken Train Crash: Family Of Killed Woman Plans To Sue NJ Transit

HOBOKEN, NJ — The family of a 34-year-old woman killed in a Hoboken Train Terminal crash in September plans to sue NJ Transit for its alleged role in her death, their attorneys announced Tuesday.

Fabiola Bittar de Kroon, 34, of Hoboken, the married mother of a 2-year-old girl, worked as a corporate lawyer for the SAP software company and moved to New Jersey from Brazil earlier this year.

On Sept. 29, a train crashed into the Hoboken Train Terminal platform, mangling the train car and collapsing a portion of the roof. When the terminal’s roof collapsed from the impact of the crash, it sent metal flying into the air, striking and killing de Kroon and injuring 108 others, officials stated.

• See related article: Hoboken NJ Train Crash Latest: Victim Identified, More Than 100 Injured

In addition to NJ Transit, De Kroon’s family is also planning to file suit against the train's engineer, Thomas Gallagher, as well as the NJ Transit employees allegedly involved in the “decision not to implement necessary safety technology and improvements, including positive train control (PTC), despite two similar accidents at the same location,” their attorneys announced.

• See related article: Hoboken Train Crash: Engineer Had Sleep Apnea, Attorney Says
• See related article: Train Engineer Has 'No Memory' Of Hoboken Crash As Other Problems Arise In Probe: NTSB

The De Kroon family’s attorneys also asserted that NJ Transit should also be held responsible for:

“Requiring only one crew member, the engineer, in a driving cab or locomotive during a train's entry into the Hoboken Terminal”

“Failing to properly and adequately screen for, monitor and treat medical issues”

“This is the first step on the road to achieving just compensation for the family of Fabiola Bittar de Kroon, a loving young mother and talented lawyer who tragically and unnecessarily died in the horrific Hoboken crash,” trial attorney Tom Kline of Kline & Specter said.

De Kroon’s family's suit isn’t the only potential lawsuit that NJ Transit is facing as a result of the crash.

In October, a 66-year-old Tenafly man who was a passenger aboard the ill-fated Hoboken-bound train filed notice of his intent to sue, claiming that he lost part of a finger, suffered a broken nose and received lacerations to his head and face during the incident.

• See related article: Rider Plans To Sue NJ Transit For Hoboken Train Crash

ALLEGED SAFETY VIOLATIONS

In November, federal inspectors announced that numerous safety violations had been found at the terminal just months before the crash. The alleged violations included:

• On-duty workers using personal cell phones.
• Failure to equip trains with required emergency equipment, including working fire extinguishers
• Crew members failing to perform required brake tests on trains.
• Trains stopping too close to each other.
• Train engineers failing to blow horns at grade crossings.
• A failure to rehire at key NJ Transit positions, including the chief of its Office of System Safety

Federal investigators’ November announcement came on the heels of reports that the ill-fated Sept. 29 train was traveling more than twice the station’s speed limit.

• See related article: Investigators Release New Details In Hoboken Crash Probe

REMEMBERING A YOUNG MOTHER

Her family’s attorneys said that de Kroon had just dropped off her daughter at day care and raced over to the station just before the crash.

ABC News spoke to de Kroon’s mother, Suelli Bittar, who lives in Brazil, who said her daughter was "a beautiful girl inside and outside."

"If you have seen some pictures of them you will understand what I am telling you," she told the network. "She was very intelligent. She had a beautiful career here in Brazil."

• See related article: Tears For Young Mother Killed In Hoboken Train Crash

In the wake of the tragedy, a pair of online fundraisers reportedly hope to help ease the loss of the young mother. Both fundraisers stated that all monies will be donated to orphan homes in Fabiola's home town of Santos, Brazil, at the request of her husband, Adrianus, and daughter, Julia.

• See related article: Pair Of Fundraisers Started In Hoboken Train Crash Victim’s Name

Photo: National Transportation Safety Board

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