Probe begins in commuter train collision

Melanie Eversley | USA TODAY

Show Caption Hide Caption Conn. commuter trains collide; 60 go to hospital Two commuter trains serving New York City collided in Connecticut during Friday's evening rush hour, injuring about 50 people, authorities said. There were no reports of fatalities. (May 17)

Sixty people transported to hospitals%2C Conn. Gov. Dan Malloy says

Service between New York and Boston suspended indefinitely

Passengers describe a chaotic%2C terrifying scene of crunching metal and flying bodies

Sixty people were transported to hospitals and five people were hurt critically, one very critically, Friday night near Bridgeport, Conn., after an eastbound commuter train derailed and was hit by a westbound train, Conn. Gov. Dan Malloy said in a news conference.

No fatalities were reported in the collision, The (Westchester County, N.Y.) Journal News reported.

Metro-North Railroad called the collision a "major derailment."

The collision prompted Amtrak, which sent out notification via Twitter, to suspend service indefinitely between New York and Boston. Metro-North Railroad, which serves commuters in the greater New York area, issued a service alert saying service had been suspended between New Haven and South Norwalk, Conn.

According to the Twitter feed of the Metropolitan Transit Authority, the parent of Metro-North, service will not return to normal on the line until "a full investigation is complete and repairs are made," the Journal News reports.

Malloy said that most people were not seriously hurt. He said there was extensive damage to the train cars and the track, and it could take until Monday for normal service to be restored.

He said the area where the accident happened was down to two tracks because of repair work and that the accident will have a "big impact on the Northeast corridor."

"We're most concerned about the injured and ultimately reopening the system," Malloy said from the scene about three hours after the crash. He said there was no reason to believe it was anything other than an accident.

Lola Oliver, 49, of Bridgeport, was riding one of the trains when the crash threw her from her seat.

"All I know was I was in the air, hitting seats, bouncing around, flying down the aisle and finally I came to a stop on one seat. And I just gripped it because I felt the train sliding," Oliver told The Associated Press. "It happened so fast I had no idea what was going on. All I know is we crashed."

Oliver, a cardiology technician, was treated at a hospital for cuts and bruises and released.

The National Transportation Safety Board will head up an investigation into the crash, Malloy said.

The crash happened after a 5:30 p.m. train out of Grand Central Station in New York bound for New Haven, Conn., derailed near Bridgeport, Conn., TheJournal News reported. A train heading in the opposite direction from New Haven to Grand Central struck the first train.

"The eastbound train derailed, which is what caused the trains to collide," said Aaron Donovan, a Metro-North spokesman. "It derailed in such a way that it went into the path of the westbound train on an adjacent track."

An estimated 700 people were aboard the two trains, AP reports.

Passenger Bradley Agar of Westport, Conn., said he was in the first car of the westbound train when he heard screaming and the window smash behind him.

"I saw the first hit, the bump, bump, bump all the way down," he said.

Agar had returned to work this week for the first time since breaking his shoulder in January. And since he was still healing, he thought it would be safer to take the train than drive.

Police and emergency medical responders were on the scene Friday night and bus service was arranged for those who were unharmed in the crash, Donovan told The Journal News .

By late evening, Bridgeport Police Chief Joseph Gaudett said everybody who needed treatment had been attended to.

The nursing supervisor at St. Vincent Medical Center said early Saturday that more than 40 people had been seen and that five patients were admitted, including one in critical condition.

Bridgeport Hospital spokesman John Cappiello said that as of 2 a.m. Saturday about 14 people were still being seen and that two patients had been admitted in critical condition.

The cause of the initial derailment was not clear and Donovan said authorities will investigate.

Bridgeport Mayor Bill Finch said the disruption caused by the train accident could cost the region's economy millions of dollars.

"A lot of people rely on this, and we've got to get this reconnected as soon as possible," Finch said.

Contributing: The (Westchester County, N.Y.) Journal News , The Associated Press