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

Family and friends are mourning a young mother who was killed in a Hoboken train crash that injured 108 people Thursday as a probe into the tragedy continues.

Tears were shed for Fabiola Bittar de Kroon, 34, of Hoboken as the National Transportation Safety Board announced that the event recorder — the train's so-called "black box" — was recovered after the high-speed crash.

"We'll be getting [into] that as soon as we can access that," NTSB Vice Chairman T. Bella Dinh-Zarr told reporters at a press conference late Thursday, noting that the event recorder should provide details on why the crash happened.

de Kroon, who worked as a corporate lawyer for the SAP software company, was killed after being hit by debris on the Hoboken platform while the crash's impact caused the terminal's roof to collapse, sending flying metal airborne, officials said.

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 looked 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 latest developments in the tragic crash include:

• The NTSB said the engineer, Thomas Gallagher, 48, of Morris Plains, who was injured, hospitalized and released Thursday, is cooperating with authorities in the investigation. He is expected to be interviewed on Friday.
• PATH service resumed in Hoboken even though the century-old terminal will remain shut down for the foreseeable future, Port Authority officials said.
• Gov. Chris Christie, who said the train "came in at a higher rate of speed than it should have," said the Office of the Attorney General also is investigating the crash.
• Christie said the crash appeared to be a "tragic accident" that was not intentional or terror-related.

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

There was no word, meanwhile, on services planned for de Kroon, who was reportedly married with an 18-month-old baby girl after moving to New Jersey from Brazil earlier this year. The New York Daily News said 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 the victim's mother, Suelli Bittar, who lives in Brazil, who said her daughter is "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."

Day care director Maria Sharp told the network, "You just saw a smile on her face every time she came to pick up her daughter ... and that's what I keep seeing."

On Linkedin, de Kroon was described as a corporate lawyer with an MBA who had "solid experience" in the legal field. She graduated from Florida International University - College of Business in 2011 with an MBA.

"Business-oriented mindset, team player and hands-on professional, actively participating in the company’s decision making processes and handling strategic matters for the company," the site said. "Working as business partner with focus on results. International experience and graduation. Fluent in English.”

The San Francisco Chronicle reported that she moved to New Jersey because her husband got a job with an international liquor company, and the couple traveled globally and frequently. N.J.com reported that she left SAP earlier this year.

Her husband, Daan, who was out of town on business when the accident happened, had to tearfully call de Kroon's mother in Brazil that afternoon to tell her what happened, according to The New York Post.

The couple was portrayed as a happy pair in Facebook photos, which showed them traveling, eating at restaurants and scuba diving.

A friend who wished to remain anonymous told The New York Daily News that the couple were deeply in love, saying: “They recently made the decision to have a child and I know that was really big for them."

Photos courtesy of NBC 4 New York

Patch file photo