locomotive.sked the nta why the lyco lyw locomotive was pushing the train. was that some how a factor? the fact that the locomotive was at the rear of the train as the train approached the curve. there have been some reports that the innin engineer tried tt on the brakes but he was unable to. that is not confirmed. that is another question they'll be asking this engineer. that will be one part of the investigation. >> these commuter trains operate differently than passenger trains. talk about a difference between a train like this and something like amtrak which a lot more people are familiar with across the country. >> these trains first of all they are frequent. as you know they make a lot of stops. what is interesting about today's accident was this train was just before the next station however it was not a station that the train was scheduled to stop at. there was no slowing down at least to go into the next station whether that was a factor and the engineer thought we don't have to go throu

where is the locomotive? >> the locomotive, and you have probably seen the pictures as much as i have, was basically just nearly inside the turn. so it was not very far through the turn. >> how far would it have traveled in six seconds at that speed? >> i guess what i'm asking is, does the throttle come off at that place where it comes off the rails? the locomotive? >> that would be close together. >> excuse me? >> that would be close together. but i don't -- without analyzing it, it's hard to say exactly what that sequence was. >> we'll take one more question. >> any toxicology tests done on the driver? >> there was drug and alcohol testing that has been completed but the results have not been made available to us. >> what has he said? >> can you just explain about the brake pressure going to zero, what it means? >> brake pressure -- >> and the time of that again, please. >> the brake pressure went to zero five seconds prior to the stop -- to the complete stop of the locomotive. the brakes are held off by pr

where is the locomotive? >> the locomotive, and you have probably seen the pictures as much as i have, was basically just nearly inside the turn. so it was not very far through the turn. >> how far would it have traveled in six seconds at that speed? >> i guess what i'm asking is, does the throttle come off about the place where it comes off the rails? locomotive. >> that would be close together. >> excuse me? >> that would be close together. but i don't -- without analyzing it, it's hard to say exactly what that sequence was. >> we'll take one more question. >> are there toxicology tests done on the driver? >> there were drug and alcohol testing. that has been completed. but the results have not been made available to us yet. >> what has he said? >> yes, i -- >> can you just explain what the brake pressure going to zero means for the average reader? >> brake pressure. >> and the time of that again, please. >> the brake pressure went to zero five seconds prior to the stop -- to the complete stop of the locomo

this is a steam locomotive. now, it was made in great britain because americans did not know how to make locomotives. we had the dream of making a steam engine to propel something. they went up the hudson river. we knew about steam engines, but the idea of achieving quick, efficient, major use of technology to move goods and people around the country was just a dream. >> there's a fellow in new jersey with the idea, let me get a locomotive. the brits making locomotives, getting one there there, and this came in pieces to new jersey in 1831, and it was put together by a a crew of guys who had never seen a locomotive, just imagine getting this in pieces and put it together. they experimented, track was laid in new jersey, and the idea was do connect new york and philadelphia, the two biggest cities in the young united states. you had to do it in new jersey because the tariffs and taxes such. it went from south new jersey opposite new york to camden, opposite philadelphia. when they laid the track, they did it in a

of five of the cars and the locomotive. the two remaining cars are in the process of being inspected. as soon as that's completed all of the cars and locomotive will be moved to a secure facility for further examination and evaluation in the next few days. our investigators will continue their on-scene work tomorrow, including interviews, inspections, and documentation gathering. with that i'd be willing to take few questions. >> was this human error or was this fault where braking systems that led to this derailment? >> the question is, was this human error or faulty equipment? the answer is, at this point in time, we can't tell. at this point in time the data is preliminary burt we can say here's what happened. we know speed and position and power settings and brake application -- we don't know if the brakes went to zero pressure because of a valve change or the breakup. that will be determined as the investigation continues. >> what does it tell you so far? you tell us the throttle was released to idle. at five seconds t

the locomotive has been rerailed.ur team has conducted the preliminary assessment of five of those cars and the locomotive. the two remaining cars are in the process of being inspected at this point. as soon as that's completed, all of the cars and the locomotive will be moved to a security facility for further examination and evaluation in the next few days. >> our investigators will continue ory their on-scene work tomorrow including interviews, inspections, and documentation gathering. with that, i would be willing to take a few questions. >> to be clear, this was human error or was this faulty breaking system that led to this derailment? >> so the question was: was this human error or faulty equipment? the answer is at this point in time, we can't tell. at this point in time, the data is preliminary, but we can say here is what happened. we know speeds and positions and power settings and brake application, we don't know whether the brakes went to zero pressure because of a valve change or because of the train bre

, the front of the train, to the locomotive.her remote possibility of it causing problems. but it needs to be checked out and i'm sure they are going to do that as they do the detailed inspection of the cars and the locomotive. it's beginning to look more and more like operator had a problem, an error of some kind. whether he dozed off or something else. >> and in your experience, sir, the sources have told cnn that the engineer says he was, quote, in a daze. what does that imply to you? fatigue? they made clear there they said he was on day two of a five-day shift. which one would presumably means he wouldn't necessarily be fatigued. what do you take from what we've heard so far in terms of possible operator error? >> my initial reaction to hearing that daze off comment was possibly he suffers from sleep apnea and you get in a comfortable position in the cab and maybe it was nice and warm and he dozed off. >> all right. john, thank you so much. we appreciate it. nic robertson, thank you as well. >>> coming up next on "the lead"

. >> the train was being pushed from the diesel locomotive to the back. there is no engine in the front. they are unpowerred cars. >> do we know if the signals were functioning, if the cab signals were functioning properly? at this point it is too early to tell. we are looking. we have had a chance to look over scene and start documenting the condition of the rails, start documenting the condition of the cars. and then night fell. >> governor, how concerned are you about a second accident and are you worried about...what that has to do with it? >> the curve has been here for many, many years, right? trains take the curve every day through the 365 days a year. the hudson hits the harlem river here and goes to the east river so we always had this configuration. we didn't have accidents, so there has to be another factor and that is what we want to learn from the ntsb. is there a change that can be made? great. that is what it is all about. first, we have to get the results of the investigation before we know what we are trying to fix, if anything. it can't

seven cars being pushed by a a locomotive. all seven cars derailed. there are four fay i fatalities3 injured and they have been transported to hospital close by. if anyone has any questions with respect to a missing person that may have been on the train they should call 311. 311 to identify the location of their lost one in -d one in the hospital. >> it's apparently a tragic situation. there are four fatalities. >> please call 311 if you are concerned about someone that was on the train. new york is blessed with the best first responders in the country. and the fine fire department personnel and amtrak personnel an nta personnel were right on site and did an extraordinary job. as we speak in terms of causes, we don't know exactly what happened, the nts is on it's way they'll do a thorough investigation and we'll wait to see what the ntsb says before speculating as any causes. >> govenor is anyone cup i unaccounted for and can you talk about the extent of their injuries? >> seriously injured and we think everyone is accounted for. the site has been go

the train in spain was propelled with a front locomotive. while the metro north train was being pushed from behind against a rear propelled locomotive. how does that factor into this crash at all? >> not at all. it has a push/pull configuration. it's used all across the united states and the world. it's used in france and in spain. and it has very little to do with anything. there's no compromise in safety. there's no difference in safety performance of the train. >> that's great information. thank you for joining us. >>> still to come, americans held in north korea. the white house pleads for their release. >>> plus amazon uses military technology. how do you feel about drones delivering your christmas presents? >>> and the business of marijuana. when i first started experiencing the pain, it's, it's hard to describe because you have a numbness... but yet you have the pain like thousands of needles sticking in your foot. it was progressively getting worse, and at that point i knew i had to do something. when i went back to my healthcare pro

this is a steam locomotive. now, it was made in great britain because americans did not know how to make locomotives. we had the dream of making a steam engine to propel something. they went up the hudson river. we knew about steam engines, but the idea of achieving quick, efficient, major use of technology to move goods and people around the country was just a dream. >> there's a fellow in new jersey with the idea, let me get a locomotive. the brits making locomotives, getting one there there, and this came in pieces to new jersey in 1831, and it was put together by a a crew of guys who had never seen a locomotive, just imagine getting this in pieces and put it together. they experimented, track was laid in new jersey, and the idea was do connect new york and philadelphia, the two biggest cities in the young united states. you had to do it in new jersey because the tariffs and taxes such. it went from south new jersey opposite new york to camden, opposite philadelphia. when they laid the track, they did it in a

and locomotive was pushing seven passenger cars are on a 30 mi.curve when whole train left the tracks. investigators did not know yet how fast it was going. some say that many of the surviving passengers will suffer post-traumatic stress disorder from the tragic event. >> passengers were trying to get home, to school, or back to work after the thanksgiving weekend are expected to get back by bus. >> authorities are investigating the cause of a freight train derailment in southern new mexico that killed three railroad employees. officials say it is unclear what caused saturdays to relent that led to the train locomotives plunging 40 ft. down a ravine. there were no other passengers on the train and 8 cars being pulled by the locomotive or made on or near the tracks. >> today, federal investigators began at today's hearing on the crash of asiana flight 214. a passenger jet that was flying too low and slow tried to land as san francisco international airport in july. the national transportation safety board says that the hearing will focus on a pilot

again, seven passenger cars and that one locomotive car that was in the back of the train. investigators are looking at where they went, how, of course, did they get off the track, that's the question that they are out here to answer. here's the the important thing right now. we know that a crane is en route to the scene. it will lift up some of the passenger cars that you've been seeing pictures of all day long. the seven large passenger cars. two of them were turned completely on their sides. they need to be right-sided and lifted. of course, we will then have an answer to another question, whether or not there could be any passengers who may have been trapped by the train. at this point we're told by authorities that they believe that all the passengers are accounted for. the estimate is that there were probably about 150 people onboard. and again, the belief is that they're all accounted for but it is possible that additional people could still be found to have been on the train at some point even if they are recovered and uninjured and simply just walked away. but that

we have downloaded the data off the locomotive.ze it or verify it at this point. thank you. thank you very much. >> an important point there by the ntsb investigators, saying they have downloaded the information from the black box or the data recorder in the train and they've also found that recorder and that they will be able to get information from that, as well. i want to go back to rene marsh who i think we have on scene in washington, d.c. very comprehensive plan they have here. six different teams. tracks, signals, mechanical equipment, operations, human performance, and survival factors will all be looked at in this. what did you pick up from this press conference there? >> a few things did stand out. of course, with the human factor, they're going to want to talk to the crew there. they're going to be thinking about rest issues, did they get enough sleep, were procedures followed as far as their scheduling goes. of course, physical examinations, that sort of thing. the other thing that stood out was, you know, we've been he

and also when i looked out my other window facing west i saw the locomotive turned on it's side an off the tracks as well. >> to explain what ray is saying here, here you see the front of the train. the front of the train is feet away from the river. it turned off and it said speed was a factor. and the first car is going over and you can see the first car lying on it's side. 5. >> morgan it was a few months ago where another train was on the hudson line. that was involved in another accident. what can you tell us about that? >> therwe do know there was anor train crash we heard about it in july. ray do you remember that train crash. >> i do remember it, it was a freight train derailment that happened in the middle of the night. >> were yowere you here when tht happened. >> i do remember that and it happened in the middle of the night. >> did it sound the type of crash. >> this one sounded a little different. there was an echo after ward an an erie silence. have you been talking to your neighbors about it? >> i have. my nex next door neighbors did r it. i was a sleep when i heard this

police say that after losing the locomotive, the eight cars apparently kept on traveling but derailed at a nearby curve. >>> environmental group greenpeace says chinese officials should do more to deal with serious air pollution if they hope to host the 2022 winter olympics in beijing. greenpeace has released the results of a study on airborne particles. the survey covered the area around the capital. chinese authorities announced in september a plan to cut air pollution by more than 25% by 2017. greenpeace says even if officials meet this target level of pm-2.5 won't fall below china's air quality standards before 2030. >> translator: many things still need to be done if the government wants to achieve the standard. >> greenpeace says emissions of air pollutants must be reduced by 80% from their 2010 levels. it says failure to do so would mean china won't clear its own standards by 2022. >>> japanese leaders are doing more to help with the global fight against infectious diseases. they're giving an additional $800 million to an international fund-raising their contribution to nearly

investigation but recovered to so called authentic record this one from the cop car along for the locomotive. initial tests carried out in washington dc are revealed some startling baker about the train's speed in the moments before the accident. those details were available press conference held by the ntsb so the question is was this human error or fault the book the answers at this point on we can tell some worrying state of the male needs to be explained. this is the second large scale can meet a train accident from that total this year. but the first of its thirty one year history to result in passenger that the uy that is specifically designed to prevent accidents due to over speeding and that save lives. cctv is me thinking has this report. so this weekend's train question you'll like the one in spain to get to see it was speed but he also may be a technology that can literally stop the plane in its tracks to the train engineer rams a band to cost a computer system called positive train control or ptc committee also using senses but on the rails and the train stopped on its contract t

the best laboratories in the world work on this post our graduates are the real locomotive of the educational system. there are many young scientists teachers the managers in the country most are graduates also became some sort of concert ambassadors for the rest of the world. they promote kazakhstan has a cold turkey and traditions. everywhere they go. the more sober than ever to touch on the cover this customer was already know. we need professionals and international level to go through the transition period to market economy. early in the spirit. we have only one choice which is to shift to private property and to attract more investments we'll just go. hundreds of foreign investors are coming to cause extend to do business. we didn't have professionals to speak the language in to work with him at that time. but now when i look back i think that i made the correct decision twenty years ago austin called to assist them results of this program more shock. there is also of the presidential own. scores are bullish. most rev means future. and the of this program has been launched was launched

and the russian club locomotive to ban became the first group d. team to qualify for the top sixteen as they thrashed the a two us three test eighty four fifty three in vilnius derek brown top scored for locomotive with twenty points and later coach by shooting was given the joint role of also taking over the russian national team. selection bush's first of all i'd like to say thank you for entrusting me with this job because it's the russian national team it's a very big responsibility we have a big country with a big basketball history and we need to do a lot of work to take the russian team up to the highest level the most important thing is added to it as we need to make the players understand what a responsibility it is to play for the national team almost just for you which is now let's turn to boxing and a different kind of rematch five years after that controversial heavyweight bout in zurich it on the holyfield was here in moscow and came face to face once again with nikolai valuev the guy i chose as more. evander holyfield is the real dea

and the russian club locomotive combine became the first group in detail to qualify for the top sixteen as they feel rushed the attuvassery test eighty four fifty three in vilnius derek brown top scored for locomotive with twenty points and later coach yevgeny by shooting was given the joint role of also taking over the russian national team. selection bush's former first of all i'd like to say thank you for entrusting me with this job because it's the russian national team it's a very big responsibility we have a big country with a big basketball history and we need to do a lot of work to take the russian team up to the highest level the most important thing is to educate as we need to make the players understand what a responsibility to play for the national team almost for which is you know now let's turn to boxing and a different kind of rematch five years after that controversial heavyweight bout in zurich. if i wonder how they failed us here in moscow and came face to face once again with nicole i value it because i chose as more. evander holyfield is the real deal the former undi

this is the canal of the locomotiv locomotive. >> reporter: okay.atigue. >> we are dealing with humans in the cab of locomotives and we have frailties. >> reporter: on the return trip to chicago klein said he has too much to worry about to be distracted. >> again, there's always something going on, the alerters going off, everything happening in front of you, for me it's not real easy to lose concentration. >> reporter: and now he'll grab some rest before doing it all over again in just a few hours. every day hundreds of engineers are traveling on thousands of miles of track and driving a train is a lot like playing chess you have to think several moves ahead, only you have to do it at 70 miles per hour, chris frates, cnn, chicago. >> interesting perspective. >>> well, i'm deborah feyerick, i'll see you right back here at the top of the hour with lots more. >>> but first, some surprising good news about cancer. "sanjay gupta m.d." starts right now. >>> an unbelievable story that i'm having a hard time wrapping my name around, it's about carolyn bosl

the entire train, seven cars and locomotive were all derailed.ved from the emergency services indicate that there were numerous -- several fatalities and numerous injuries. accurate information in that regard can be obtained from the new york city office of medical -- the chief medical examiner. the investigator in charge is mr. mike flanagan. mr. flanagan has had 35 years of experience in the rail investigation business. he'll be leading a multidisciplinary team. that team -- that team involves several subteams. there will be an organizational meeting tonight to form up the teams. there will be a track team, which will look at the condition of the tracks. leading to the point of derailment. try to identify any anomalies. there will be a signals team looking at the condition of the signaling system. and hopefully looking for any possible data that might have been recorded by the signaling system. the mechanical equipment team will be looking at the passenger cars, the braking, the condition of the mechanicals, looking for the data from the event

the lead locomotive did end up teetering inches away from the water. a track problem, was it human error, mechanical error? was speed a factor the ntsb is looking into all of those factors. the metro north train that was southbound was headed toward grand central station t. derailed in the bronx around 7:20 yesterday morning. th the train did not slow down. investigators are trying to determine how bad it was going as it was approaching the curve. >> it is not the fact that there's a curve here. we have always had this configuration. we didn't have accidents. there has to be another factor. >> investigators say the speed limit is 35 miles per hour. it comes from an area where it was 70 miles an hour. >> we don't know what the train speed was. we will learn that from the event recorders. we have downloaded the data off the locomotive we have not been able to identify it or verify it. >> two of the cars split one of them ended up on the banks of the river. this is how they explained what happened. >> she said the train is going fast. she felt the jerking

one was in the locomotive in the back of the train. the other was in the train's front car. the information recorded will give investigators an idea of the trains's speed, its velocity and how the brake system was working. carol? >> alexandria field, reporting live from the bronx. thank you. >>> new details about the fiery car crash that killed "fast and furious" actor paul walker over the weekend. california police say speed was a factor in saturday's accident. walker was in the passenger's seat of this 2005 porsche. this photo taken just 30 minutes before he was killed. last week, walker gave what would become one of his last interviews in this next clip, walker talks about what he learned from his latest role. his response is chilling. >> the machine is life. just endlessly cranking. we're running around and we're trying to juggle all these balls and running all over the place. when they all hit the floor we panic. there's really no need. because -- >> everything's -- >> focus. it's right here. it's what's important. it's of the heart, family, friends, the rest, nonsense.

also today, investigators began a more detailed inspection in each of the railroad cars and the locomotive. these cars were moved late yesterday to secure rail yards and investigators spent the day documents and independenting the mechanical systems. in addition we are continuing to -- we are continuing signal testing and to date no anolllies have been found. including the engineer whose interview is currently underway. the first responders to the accident scene, as requires by federal regulation, following the accident, each member of the crew was drug and alcohol tests. the results from the alcohol breath test were all negative, the results from the other testing are still pending. with regard to the engineer, he has worked for metro north for 15 year and has been an engineer for ten of those. was his regular rout, making two round trips each day, with a typical day lasting approximately nine hours. is engineer has been running this particular rout full time since november 17th, this was the second day of a five day work week. now many of you have asked about whether positive train contr

the locomotive engineer identified by the union as william rockefeller jr. is a 20-year veteran, no disciplinary actions to speak of so far. once again, it could take months, though, before we have a final cause as to what caused these trains to derail. wolf? >> jason carroll with the latest from yonkers just outside new york, thank you. this is the latest in a series of deadly train wrecks and for some of the worst, investigators didn't have to probe very far to find the cause. cnn's tom foreman is working this part of the story for us. what are you finding out? >> early reports about possible causes for this train crash in the bronx raises the specter of twin problems, as jason alluded to, which combined to produce horrific results on railways. human error and/or equipment failures. this stunning video of a passenger train crash in spain last summer becomes even more so when you hear what authorities have found. spanish officials now indicate the train was racing at well over 100 miles an hour, more than twice the posted limit. 79 people died when it flew

they will begin with the locomotive and work toward reaching the other seven subsequent cars and thecess should last into the morning. overnight we learned the names of the four passengers killed aboard that train. they are the following. we are also hearing this morning from the survivors of this wreck. they are telling us about the terrifying moments when their train stopped feet short of the harlem river. >> i thought i'm going to die. to be honest, he thought i'm going to die. >> i broke my arm. it's really painful. >> i heard a lot of crunching and thought seeing stars in front of my eyes. i thought is this the end? >> i heard a screeching noise. i happened to be by the window. i'm on top of the hill but i heard a screeching noise and within seconds, the ambulance and the fire trucks started coming past my window. >> i was on the train and not paying attention to anything in particular and then the train felt a little more sideways than it should have been. by the time i looked up it was completely going off its track and there was just the rubble from under the tracks like flyi

the train got 8 feet away from them i came off the ladder, and i took two strides in front of the locomotive and knocked both children underneath me and the train passed over us, the engine and two cars. >> whether by instint or quick judgment he did the only thing that would save the children's lives and his own. rolled over the track. held the boys down and lay still as the train rolled over their heads. there was barely a foot of clear apes. it graced scott opening cuts in his head. i wanted to get on my hands and knees and thank this man. >> in 1999 a helicopter rescue crew plucked a crane. the challenges that they faced and here's bob's report. >> get it to the point. >> millions of television viewers were blew thed to their screens. when a helicopter pilot and a firefighters hanging from a line attempted a rescue the drama was more riftets, mcritchie and bob are full time rescue pilots. i asked them to evaluate the work. they said the team hoped to land on the crane and put the man aboard, but that didn't pan out. >> the guy wires we can't see. and they would snag up on the rotar blade

equipped with a warning device that could have awaken a dozing engineer but it was located in the locomotivet was pushing the train and not in the car where the engineer was actually sitting. also new this morning. a passenger on the trial has filed a notice of claim against the railroad so this is the first step in a lawsuit seeking unspecified damages for negligence. >>> college in north carolina on lockdown wednesday after gunfire erupted near the campus. two people killed and one wounded outside of wingate university outside of charlotte. the identity of the victims have not been relieved. none were students or employees of the school. a search is under way for the suspect. >>> 14-year-old philip chism was indicted last month by a garage for the death of math teacher colleen ritzer. prosecutors say chism sexual assaulted her and stole her credit cards and an iphone and then he killed her. in a school bathroom that was before dumping her body. he then allegedly went to see the woody allen movie "blue jazzman" at a nearby theater. >>> paul signs ciancia is makin first court appance on mond

would be human error on behalf of the engineer and the other is mechanical error on the part of the locomotive. >> eyes are turning towards the engineer. william rockefeller told investigators that the brakes didn't work. but the train's black boxes reveal power was cut just seconds before that crash. four people died in the accident and dozens are injured. many victims remain in the area hospitals with broken bones and spinal cord injuries. >>> now to washington. president obama will shift from damage control to sales pitch. it is part of the three-week effort to refocus the attention to positive aspects of the affordable care act. monday announced by the white house that 100,000 people signed up on the site. the trouble is not over. 37% of people under the age of 30 are familiar with the law. getting healthy young people to sign up for obama care is a key component of the law's success. though he's not under 30, president obama plans to buy health care through the online exchange. his policy will come with substantial out of pocket costs, because it will not be taxpayer-subsidi taxpayer-subs

. >> the engineer was injured, he was control the train from the front car since the locomotive was pushing from the back, the national transportation safety board says investigators are at the scene. >> i mention this to not to understand just what happened but whyÑi it happened, with the intent of presenting, to prevent it from happening again. >> bill sherman lives nearby. >> i heard screeching noise, some loud, so loud it woke me up, normally we don't notice it, but crunching, grinding metal. >> passenger ryan kelly broke his hand in the accident. >> i was sleeping, right before we went around the bend, and i kind of woke up when the train started to tilted a it went flying off and i got thrown across back and forth and came to like a halt and there was just people screaming and a lot of dust everywhere. >> reporter:some of the victims were ejected from the train by the force of the derailment. >> dr. david lisman of st. barnabas hospital. >> there is one gentleman with a spinal cord injury that it could be quite, quite serious. the other more serious injuries are simple fractures, and

." >>> still to come, talk about a locomotive. >> this kid just jumps in that pool and starts dancing on it. >> see why this performance gets a ten. >>> some gifts come alive. this is cool. this is like what every kid imagines happens when you go to sleep. >> find out what these classic christmas toys are up to. >>> you still have time to vote for the best videos of 2013. >> we have posted all kinds of rtm favorites. >> time to get over to "right this minute" and click on the best of 2013. >> check out the videos and click thumb's up to vote. >> we'll unveil your top ten best videos on "right this minute".com on new year's eve. >> do your patriotic rtm duty and vote today, everybody >>> let's take a little ride on the "l" train in new york city and get a show while we're at it. these are some performers that decided to put on a show, not necessarily rare. it happens quite often. these guys are -- ♪ >> he jumps in that pool apole and starts dancing on it. >> this guy is done but look at what the guy in the redshirt does. he starts not only using the handrails on the ceiling of this tra

. >> reporter: all seven cars and the locomotive derailed with one stopping short of the river. her 19-year-old cousin was on board. >> she hit the side of her face on the glass and it shattered. it started to roll. she grabbed onto the railing and wrapped herself like a monkey around it while it was rolling until it stopped rolling. >> reporter: like many passenger joel has dozed off after the train made the sharp turn j. you could hear the unbelievable screeching thoiz inging noises that occurred. i said to myself i think this is going to be it. we're done. >> within minutes, witnesses say first responders were on the scene pulling people to safety injured rushed to hospitals. >> there was one gentleman with a spinal cord injury that could be serious. >> emergency crews used air bags to search for victims under the wreckage wreckage. three of four that died were thrown from the train. donna smith and jim lovell were among the victims. it's not clear how fast the train was going as it made the fatal turn. william rockefeller jr. was among those treated. >> nobody knows what's h

. >> reporter: federal crash investigators met with the locomotive engineer late tuesday at metro offices in north white plains. 46 year-old william rockefeller who was injured in the crash itself accepts blame for the fatal derailment saying he went into a kind of trance at the controls. >> i just know that there was a lapse and that was a nod or however they want -- however it will be explain dad and it was a mistake -- explained today and it was a mistake any of us could make. >> reporter: the 15-year employee of the railroad, billy to his friends, is reportedly taking the loss of life very hard. >> it crushed him. billy is -- billy is very affected by this. >> reporter: at their final on site briefing for this incident, the ntsb said the train's brakes appeared to be working fine and that although rockefeller had recently come off a night shift, he was two days into a five-day work week and had ample time to sleep. >> i don't know the specific time he finished the shift but the day was a typical nine-hour day and these days were routine days. >> wee have had sufficient time to get a f

." >>> still to come, talk about a locomotive. >> this kid just jumps in that pool and starts dancing on it. >> see why this performance gets a ten. >>> some gifts come alive. this is cool. this is like what every kid imagines happens when you go to sleep. >> find out what these classic christmas toys are up to. [ female announcer ] here's to a whole world of happier holidays. time to enchant, delight and amaze. safeway will help you gather everyone 'round. a smoked, shank half ham is only 99 cents a pound. starbucks is just $6.99, that's a cup of good cheer. get sweet clementines for $4.99, enough for everyone here. turns out this season less is really so much more. so make your holiday merrier than ever before. safeway. ingredients for life. >>> you still have time to vote for the best videos of 2013. >> we have posted all kinds of rtm favorites. >> time to get over to "right this minute" and click on the best of 2013. >> check out the videos and click thumb's up to vote. >> we'll unveil your top ten best videos on "right this minute".com on new year's eve. >> do your patriotic rtm

all seven passenger cars and the locomotive derailed. >> we were, you know, grinding along the ground for, i don't know, 50 yards or something. a very fast pace. >> the curve calls for a reduction to 30. the conductor says he applied the brakes, but the train didn't slow down. in july, only 1700 feet away, there was a similar incident. a freight train also derailed around the same bend. >> it's not about the turn. something else had to happen and we want to find out what it is. >> today, workers started to move some carriages upright in search of what exactly that something else could be. in washington, wusa9. >> and the ntsb says it isn't aware of any proble with the brakes, but investigators are now interviewing the train's conductor and crew, looking for clues as to what actually happened. >> a former teacher has pleaded guilty to second-degree assault. prosecutors say he inappropriately touched two 11- year-old girls. that former teacher is 31-year- old timothy. under a plea deal, he will serve three years of supervised probation and he will never be permitted to teach any student

. >> five years ago it was recommended that cameras be installed in our locomotive cabs both pointing inside and pointing outside. inside to see what the engineer was doing. and outside to see if tracks and signals were in good shape. >> reporter: since the metro north services both of their states, new york senator chuck schumer and connecticut senator blumenthal wrote to implement the cameras immediately. this comes after the emergency order on friday requiring metro north to overall its signal system as soon as possible. the company must have an extra crew member on some routes with major speed changes. while the senators acknowledge that's a step in the right direction they say its still not enough. and as it turns out this is not the first time there has been a call for cameras on passenger trains. the safety board suggested the same safety precaution after a collision in california. >> 22 people died in that crash, and it was recommended that cameras and recorded be installed to determine the time of fatigue in days that produce that crash. >> reporter: the engineer of the new y

we'll spend time in the train yards doing a further inspection of the cars and locomotive.st completed tests of the signaling system. we hope to continue interviews with the train crew members today. >> so, mr. wiener, as we've reported, speed definitely appears to be a factor. how do you determine if the speed was driven by human error or mechanical failure? >> it will take us time to determine that. we'll be looking at the cars, understanding how the braking performance of the cars was. the interviews with the train crew members of course will be very helpful. >> as we mentioned, the train was traveling at a speed of excess of 80 plus miles an hour. i want to talk about the brake pressure, it was at zero during the crash. does that tell us if it was human error or mechanical problem? >> it really doesn't. the way the brakes work on a train, if there's no pressure, the brake shoes or cap pes engaged completely. the brakes then are released by having pressure. that pressure could be the decrease in pressure could have been caused by actuation of a valve or because the train

a locomotives pushing seven passenger cars around a curve yesterday morning when the whole train left the tracks. the force of the impact sent passengers flying. three of the four people who died were sent outside the train. >> our mission is to understand not just what happened but why it happened with the intent of preventing it from happening again. >> the speed limit on that curve where the train derailed is 30 miles an hour. investigators don't know how fast the train was going. >>> this morning we are learning more information about the sudden death of actor paul walker. since being killed in a firey car crash, fans have been keeping vigil at the site of the accident. 40-year-old walker was a passenger in a car when it was speeding. tmz is reporting the car steering may have malfunctioned. the driver has been identified as 38-year-old roger rodas. a close friend of walker. walk ear's close friend visited the crash site and visibly upset. he placed a single rose. he starred with him in some of the fast and furious movies. >>> cold weather shelters are opening tonight in the south

signal systems and i understand that the locomotive had a cab signal system telling the engineer what his speed should have been. of course emergency response and injury preve of those areas particularly operations, train handling and equipment braking, and indictly human performance will be probably be the things they will concentrate most on. jenna: what is timeline for really coming to a conclusion or closer to a conclusion about what exactly transpired? >> well, the safety board usually will take five to a week in the field, or on site and do follow-up testing and inspections and examinations. some things you just can't look out when they're out on the track. they will bring them into the shop where they get a better look at them. once that's done, each of those groups that i mentioned will be headed up by a safety board investigator with participation by parties. that could include labor unions, management of the railroad, sometimes insurers and things like that. they will have expertise they can lend to the investigation. then -- jenna: only, one of the only crashes of its kind

the locomotive jumps the tracks and ended up in a ditch. the others remained on the track. four turned on their side. >>> in scotland the death toll rowe rose to nine this morning in a helicopter crash. a police schoper crashed into a crowded nightclub in glasgow on friday. as charlie d'agata reports crews continue to comb for victims. >> reporter: beneath the debris and twisted helicopter wreckage, search teams found what they feared. deputy police chief rose fitzpatrick delivered the news. >> i can confirm that earlier this morning the body of another person was removed from the incident site. >> reporter: police warned there may be more. they released the names of some of the victims, including 36-year-old police officer kirsti nelis seen here in front of the very helicopter she died in when it tore through the roof of a crowded pub. at a service in glass dow cathedral, schoolchildren lit candles for each of the victims' in friday's crash. after tit, linda boden foult tears. pat o'mara led the squad after the crash. his team knew the helicopter well. >> quite emotional.

seven cars followed by the locomotive came around the bend and flew off the tracks. as bad as it was, rail sources say had the cars gone into the river many people could have drowned. speed and driver inattention have been factors in other major rail disasters. in spain this year, 79 people died in a crash that investigators blamed on the engineer who was speeding and texting. in 2008, 25 died in california. the ntsb said that driver was also speeding and texting just before the crash. ntsb investigators say they are now looking at the cell phone belonging to sunday's engineer. >> we certainly will be looking at the cell phone. we have found distraction to be an issue in a number of accidents, but not all accidents by any means. >> reporter: this wreck comes two years before the federal deadline for railroads to install something called positive train control, automatic braking systems. the metro north system has been pushing for a delay talking about the cost and complexity of the systems. experts say it may have meant the difference between life and death in this c

. >> it could be a locomotive. it could be a steam engine. it could be a boiler. we really don't know what's under there. >> reporter: the process is underway to figure out what's down there. but getting there won't be easy. in fact, it could take weeks to solve the problem. they're currently digging wells to reduce pressure around bertha so it's safe for crews to go down and explore. because bertha is so deep, odds favor a natural blockage like a glacial boulder. >> once we get down there, if it is a boulder, we've got equipment and tools to break it up manually. >> reporter: for historians captivated by the mystery bertha's lesson might be that sometimes you have to look back before moving forward. joe fryer, nbc news, seattle. >>> we're back in a moment with an emotional homecoming today and answers for one family after so long. >>> astronauts on board the international space station are tonight making last-minute preparations for an urgent space walk to repair a broken cooling pump early tomorrow morning. while space walks seem routine, this one is getting a l

and there are technologies that have been introduced that are required by federal law in many locomotivescularly out west where there is a lot of dead slow time on the track where people fall asleep. but surprisingly 70% of those accidents that i already mentioned that are fatigue related have already occurred in trains that were already equipped with the current generation of alert monitoring devices. so this is still and ongoing problem. there are a lot of suggestions being made, one suggestion is that we need to have some kind of stimulating environment in the locomotive cab. one suggestion has been to include music to actually have audio entertainment to actually keep people awake, keep people stimulated, keep people involved in their environment in the locomotive cab. >> steven, thanks so much for joining me. appreciate it. >>> all new with the next hour of newsroom, it is a difficult and extremely dangerous job that has been riddled with problems. when a tsunami tore through the fukushima nuclear plant and led to the toughest nuclear cleanup ever. we'll get the closest any camera ha

a locomotive, the entire train jumped the tracks. the force of theism path sent passengers flying. three of the four people who were killed were found outside of the train. >>> our mission is to understand not just what happened but why it happened the with intent of -- it happened with the intent of preventing it to happen. >> the speed limit where the train derailed is 30 miles an hour. investigators don't know how fast this train was going. coming up, we'll take you live to the scene where the very latest on that crash. >>> a new planned parenthood clinic said to open today on the peninsula is not being welcomed by everyone in the area. the new clinic is on el camino real. it will provide primary health services and abortions. some people are circulating a petition to get the clinic moved saying it will decrease property values. >>> dozens of billboards promoting atheism are being unveiled. they feature area residents and quotes why they say they are nonbelievers. all 55 billboards have been paid for by the freedom from religion organization. >> we're trying to encourage others

there's so many things to take into account when you're in the cab of a locomotive.e the signals, the throttle. there's two sets of brakes, and the train slows down and speeds up a lot slower than a passenger car. so you have to take that into account and be thinking moves ahead as you're coming down the track. and like a passenger car, though, there's been concerned about leaving engineers alone, and one expert i talked to was very concerned about that. >> there's hundreds of trains as we speak that are running up and down the tracks with one person in the cab of the locomotive, and unfortunately, we're only human. >> so he says we're only human, chris, but what can be done to prevent the kind of -- what shall we call it, engineer futeelf fatig fatigue, that might have cause, might have caused the derailment over the weekend? >> when i spoke to dave at the academy, he said the easiest thing for folks to do is just put another engineer in the cab with the operator. so that you have two sets of eyes. >> like a copilot. >> like a buddy system -- like a co-pilot down th

fatigue. >> we're dealing with humans in the cabs of those locomotives, and we have frailties. >> backg the return trip to chicago, klein says he's got too much to worry about to be distracted. >> again, there's always something going on. the alerter is going off. everything that's happening in front of you, it's -- for me, it's not real easy to lose concentration. >> and now he'll grab some rest before doing it all over again in just a few hours. every day, hundreds of engineers are traveling on thousands of miles of track. and driving a train is a lot like playing chess. you have to think several moves ahead. only, you have to do it at 70 miles per hour. chris freights, cnn, chicago. >> chris, thank you very much. >>> coming up here, the man, the legend. mr. willie nelson. he has just canceled a gig at seaworld in orlando after hearing about the cnn film "blackfish" on killer whales in captivity. we'll talk to him. i will ask him why he pulled out of the park, next. in the nation, sometimes bad things happen. add brand new belongings from nationwide insurance and we'll replace stolen

. >> across town at the locomotive factory, they too re looking east, not west. hardly surprising, when you consider who buys all their rains. >> the only market we have at this moment. >> it's here in eastern ukraine where you'll find the company's major industries, biggest factories, so big in fact they're like cities within a city. traditionally russia has been their main market. and that's why people here don't want to damage those economic ties with moscow. >> that's why the city council has been recruiting residents to go to kiev, to support the president and to stop what they see as a euro coup. the stakes are high. the mayor warns that ukraine could split into two countries. >> my biggest fear is that in , there are so forces at work trying to divide this country between east and west. >> ukraine continues to be pulled in two directions. so far it notice square has been the focus of -- independence square has been the focus of attention. now the east wants its voice heard. >> a country divided over europe and russia. you're watching "bbc world news americ

seven cars pushed by a locomotive derailed. dan cohen's apartment is right above the crash. he took these first images. >> it sounded like a plane crash that kept going on and on. that buckling sound of the train's cars hitting each other and going. on it lasted about ten seconds. >> reporter: arriving firefighters found three victims had been thrown from the cars. >> we had evidence of people under a couple of cars. we actually used airbags to lift the car. >> reporter: in all, four dead, 63 injured. already the governor has said early evidence suggests the train may have been traveling much too fast. coming into the station, they make a 90-degree turn. in this case the passenger cars went straight off the tracks and straight toward the river. since speed was a factor, the question is why? >> we don't know what the train's speed was. we will learn that from the vehicle event recorders. and incidentally, we have recovered the event recorder off the cab car. >> reporter: there has been trouble near this section of track before. in july, a freight train derailed near the same