HOBOKEN, N.J. — A careening commuter train plowed through the barrier at the end of the tracks and crashed into a wall at a terminal here during the morning rush on Thursday, killing one person, injuring more than 100 others and unleashing chaos as part of the station’s roof came tumbling down in a jumble of metal.

The startling impact tossed commuters around on the crowded train and created enough force to knock bystanders to their knees, transforming a historic station — one of the busiest in the New York region — into a disaster area around 8:45 a.m. The person who died was a woman standing on the platform, who was hit by falling debris.

Officials said they had not determined why the train, which was carrying an estimated 250 passengers, was traveling at a high speed and failed to halt on the track.

“I remember thinking, Why aren’t we stopping?” said Jamie Weatherhead-Saul, who was standing between the first and second cars on the train. “But we just kept going and going, no braking, no nothing.”

“People were screaming to stay calm, but how do you stay calm in a moment like that?” she added.

The crash sent passengers flying out of their seats in a violent tumble. Then the lights cut out. Shouts and cries underscored the sense of panic. And after passengers managed to escape from the train, many crawling through its windows, they emerged to find the station a mess of metal beams, smoke and treacherously hanging wires. Water poured from ruptured pipes. The most seriously injured were carried out. Others emerged on their own with blood staining their clothes.

A New Jersey Transit worker said a train is typically supposed to come to a stop about 10 to 20 feet in front of the bumper. Its speed limit while entering the station is 10 miles per hour. Instead, this train barreled over the bumper and onto a concourse, coming to rest at a wall near the station’s waiting area.

Image Fabiola Bittar de Kroon, who was killed when the train crash caused a portion of the station’s ceiling to collapse, officials said.

The train’s engineer, who was released from the hospital, was Thomas Gallagher, 48, according to Nancy Snyder, a spokeswoman for New Jersey Transit. Mr. Gallagher has worked for New Jersey Transit for 29 years, Ms. Snyder said.

Officials said the terminal, housed in a Beaux-Arts building dating to 1907, would remain closed until engineers could assess whether the significant damage had affected the building’s structural integrity.

The terminal serves about 60,000 people a day on commuter trains, light rail and buses, and is one of the largest transportation hubs for New Jersey Transit, the country’s third-busiest commuter railroad. It was severely damaged by Hurricane Sandy in 2012 after being swamped by five feet of water and remained closed for months.

The woman who died was identified as Fabiola Bittar de Kroon, 34, of Hoboken, who was killed when the crash caused a portion of the station’s ceiling and supporting structure to collapse, officials said.

“An extraordinary tragedy,” Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey said, flanked by Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo of New York and transportation officials at a news conference near the station on Thursday afternoon.

In all, at least 114 people were injured in the crash, a flood of victims sent to hospitals that forced at least one to set up a triage area for some patients in its cafeteria.