NTSB Photo by Chris O’Neil(HOBOKEN, N.J.) — The engineer of a New Jersey Transit train that crashed into the Hoboken station told investigators the train seemed to be operating properly, but he has no memory of the crash that killed one person and injured 114, federal officials said Sunday.
Thomas Gallagher, 48, who was injured in the crash, told National Transportation Safety Board Investigators that he was six minutes late and was traveling at 10 mph when the train arrived at the Hoboken Terminal and plowed into a platform on Thursday morning, when the crash.
But he said he has no memory of the accident, and only remembers waking up on the floor of the cab, NTSB Vice Chair Bela Dinh-Zarr said in a briefing Sunday.
According to Dinh-Zarr, Gallagher told them that he started work at 6:46 a.m., and he felt fully rested, and he said his cellphone was turned off and in his backpack.
He told investigators he tested the brakes early in the route and they were fine, the train was essentially operating properly and visibility was clear, Dinh-Zarr said.
Investigators have recovered the event recorder from the rear cab, but it is not operational, she said. The event recorder and camera from the controlling cab are not yet accessible, she said.
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