Hoboken NJ Train Crash Latest: Victim Identified, More Than 100 Injured

At least one person was killed and more than 100 people were injured in a New Jersey Transit train crash at the Hoboken terminal Thursday morning.

The victim has been identified by authorities as Fabiola Bittar de Kroon, 34, of Hoboken. Gov. Chris Christie said de Kroon was hit by debris on the platform when the train crashed.

Read update: Tears For Young Mother Killed In Hoboken Train Crash As Probe Continues

Christie and New Jersey lawmakers confirmed that in addition to the fatality, 108 people were injured in the 8:45 a.m. crash. The Federal Rail Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board were on scene Thursday to investigate.

Photos from the scene show the mangled train car that crashed into the platform of Track 5. Beams and wires appear to be knocked down, and a portion of the roof looks like it collapsed, photos from the terminal show. Passengers described people screaming and bloodied as they exited the train.

NJ Transit has established a Family Reunification Center at 20 Caven Point Ave., Jersey City. The Crisis Hotline number is 855-336-1774.

The engineer has been identified in multiple media reports as 48-year-old Thomas Gallagher. ABC News reports he is cooperating with authorities.

Christie, during a press conference Thursday afternoon, called the accident an "extraordinary tragedy," but he declined to speculate on a cause and couldn't say when the station would reopen. "We pray for the victims and their family," he said.

Christie said his administration is "hoping it's the only casualty today, and we're obviously praying for the victims and families."

Christie said the train "came in at a higher rate of speed than it should have," and he's not sure why. He said the Office of the Attorney General is investigating the crash, noting that the train engineer — who was in critical condition Thursday afternoon — "is fully cooperating."

"We have nothing to believe other than this was a tragic accident," he said.

RELATED: Here's How NJ Transit Rail Riders Can Get Home Thursday

Christie said the White House also pledged assistance, and his administration said that PATH service at the station - which was shut down after the accident - should be restored by Thursday afternoon.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said the NTSB would search for a cause, and "if there's something to learn from those facts from the investigation, we'll be sure to incorporate those facts."

Cuomo, noting last week's bombing incidents in New York and New Jersey involving a suspected terrorist, said "there is nothing we can't accomplish. There is nothing we can't overcome."

Christie praised passengers and people at the station who raced into each of the train's cars to help those who were injured.

"This region has developed a resilience that has been admired by the rest of the world," Christie said.

RELATED: New Jersey Train Crash: 5 Things You Need To Know

Christie said he has dispatched engineers to evaluate the Hoboken station for structural integrity, noting the train did some "real damage to that building." The state, he said, needs "to make sure that building is safe for people to occupy."

NJ Transit said the Pascack Valley Line train crashed through a gate, and then hopped up on a platform during the morning commute at the Hoboken station, which serves as a major transportation hub for tens of thousands of New Jersey mass transit riders.

NJ Transit confirmed "multiple critical injuries" at the scene where the No. 1614 train struck the terminal building.

Passengers said the train seemed to be moving faster than usual as it entered the station. Jamie Weatherhead-Sal, a passenger in the first car of the train, told NBC 4 New York that the train "just felt like it never stopped. It didn't slow down. It didn't brake."

"You felt like this huge, huge bang," passenger Steve Mesiano told the station. "The lights went off, and then you started to see like — I was in the window seat, so I could see like outside, what was happening, and the roof just collapsed on the first car."

Witness Nancy Solomon told MSNBC that she was was on her way to the PATH when the train crashed just as she walked onto the steps leading to the track.

"The scene was one of shock. It was quiet. People were bloody, they were lacerated, they were bruised," said Solomon, who came upon the crash before first responders arrived.

"At first it was surreal," she said. "The place where the train crashed is really the worst possible spot for the crash to happen. At this hour of the morning at quarter to 9, you're shoulder to shoulder with commuters."

City officials praised the first responders. Hoboken City Councilman Mike DeFusco said the first responders have been "terrific." He noted there was significant damage to the train and platform.

Residents recalled their shock upon learning of the crash.

Louis Melendez said he was preparing take a train later in the morning to see his sister when he heard loud sirens. He turned on the television and learned of the crash. "I've lived here my whole life, and I've never seen anything like this. Thank God I never made it to the train," he said.

He said the community needs to "stick together" to get through the aftermath. If Hoboken can come together over this "it would be beautiful."

The Pascack Valley train left the Spring Valley station at 7:32 a.m. and was due to arrive in Hoboken at 8:30 a.m. A Jersey City Medical Center spokesman said at a press conference that at least 51 people were being treated at that hospital.

All PATH service at the Hoboken station was initially suspended, and ferry service to New York City from a nearby terminal was shut down as well. Hudson Bergen Light Rail service also was suspended into and out of Hoboken terminal. The NY Waterway ferry is accepting rail tickets and passes.

NTSB spokeswoman T. Bella Dinh-Zarr said the agency will look at whether positive train control — a mechanism that slows down trains but NJ Transit trains are not required to have — could have prevented the crash. "We know that it can prevent accidents," she said during a press conference.

Christie and Cuomo also declined to say whether "PTC" could have helped prevent the crash, saying they wanted to wait for the investigation to begin.

Others also reported from the scene:

The Hoboken terminal was closed after the crash, and the waterfront walkway was closed, according to Hoboken officials. People were told to use Marin Boulevard to reach Jersey City. NJ Transit buses were also picking up people and dropping them off on Washington Street and Observer Highway.

Fabiola Bittar de Kroon photo via Facebook

Photos courtesy of John Tachine

With reporting by Kara Seymour and Eric Kiefer