Christie: 'Don't Jump To Conclusions' About What Caused The NJ TRANSIT Crash
HOBOKEN, N.J. (CBSNewYork) - New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie says a complete investigation is needed before determining the exact cause of the fatal NJ TRANSIT train crash in Hoboken Thursday.
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Christie said the National Transportation Safety Board and Federal Railroad Administration will be investigating, along with law enforcement.
"We have no preliminary information on [the cause] at this time," Christie said. "Don't jump to conclusions. Let's let the facts lead us to the conclusions."
"At this time, folks should know we have no information that leads us to believe that this is anything other than a tragic accident," Christie added.
"What we know is the train came in, as you can see from the damage, at a high rate of speed. Now, why that is and what happened, is stuff we can't just jump to conclusions on that, and we're going to have to wait for trained law enforcement and regulatory investigators to do their work, and we need to let them do their work."
Christie asked if the crash shows a need for additional safety measures.
"We could in fact just being dealing with human error as well, or some type of medical situation, we just don't know," Christie said. "But what I can assure the people of New Jersey is, that safety is NJ TRANSIT's first goal, and that if there are additional steps that need to be taken based upon the evidence of why the crash occurred, we will certainly take those steps."
Christie said he was notified about the crash shortly after 9 a.m. by law enforcement. He said after a briefing, he spoke with New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
Christie said the structural integrity of the station is going to be inspected.
"We don't want to let people into the station until we know that the structure is stable and safe," Christie said.
Christie said experiences with major disasters like 9/11 and Hurricane Sandy have helped emergency responders and contributed to the response to today's crash.
"The response by local law enforcement and EMS today was extraordinary. They got to the scene, a very chaotic, crowded scene, very quickly. They triaged people on site and got them evacuated to the appropriate hospitals to get the appropriate care that they needed to get," Christie said. "I think the unfortunate experience that we've had in this region going all the way back 15 years to 9/11, then what's gone with Hurricane Sandy, and then some of the recent terrorist attacks that we just had has made New Jerseyans and New Yorkers even more resilient, has made our EMS and law enforcement coordinate even more seamlessly, and I believe lives will be saved today because of that experience."
Christie added the crash victims and their families are in "our thoughts and our prayers."
