By JINJOO LEE
Cornellians from New York City and its surrounding areas expressed shock when, on Sunday morning, a Metro-North passenger train derailed in the Bronx.
The derailment resulted in the death of four passengers and dozens of injuries, according to the New York Times. As of Sunday evening, the exact cause of the derailment remained unknown.
Cornellians who regularly travel on Metro-North said they were horrified by the accident.
“I am in a state of shock that something like this could happen, especially as someone who frequently rides the train,” Ashley Collis-Burgess ’16 said. “My heart goes out to the families who lost their loved ones right after Thanksgiving.”
Nicole Neroulias ’01 said she and her family have ridden the Metro-North train line involved in the accident for years.
“My #metronorth train line for years, family still there. Toll on weekday would have been >5 times higher,” she tweeted to The Sun.
Lauryn Andrews ’14, who took the Hudson Line into Grand Central at 9:15 a.m., said her trip into New York City was delayed by two hours because of the derailment. She expressed both shock at the incident and relief that she was “safe and unharmed.”
“My sympathies go out to those who were directly impacted by the accident,” she added.
The National Transportation Safety Board will send a team to New York to investigate the cause of the derailment, according to the New York Times.
“What we do know is four people lost their lives today in the holiday season,” Gov. Andrew Cuomo “aid in a press conference held at the site of the crash. “They are in our thoughts and prayers.”
Some passengers said the train seemed to be going too fast, according to The New York Daily News.
Local residents said they were awakened by “a prolonged crashing sound,” according to the Times.
According to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, the train was headed to Manhattan from Poughkeepsie and was carrying roughly 150 passengers at the time of the crash.