but because it was so crowded there wasn't much -- where to go. >> reporter: 30 feet away michael larson, a new jersey transit employee, was standing on the platform. horrendous, horrendous exploding noise and concrete dust, electrical wires, and the train flying into the depot. >> reporter: the one person killed, a woman from hoboken, was not a passenger on the train but was standing on the platform when she was hit by debris. new york's governor, andrew cuomo. >> we know what happened. we don't know why it happened. the train obviously came in at too high a rate of speed. it didn't stop. it went through the barriers. when you see the destruction up close, the silver lining is there's only been one fatality thus far. >> reporter: others like engineer william blaine looking for something hopeful amidst all the trauma, jumped in to help. >> kaboom. the whole place shook. just shook. and everybody got quiet. when i turned and i ran out, and i slid, i looked to the right, and i just saw people were all over the ground. and debris and everything all over the place. it's like we were a family

michael larson, a new jersey transit employee, witnessed the crash. >> i couldn't believe what i was seeing. concrete dust, e lek ri cal wires. >> reporter: wjs stunned. >> the ceiling was caved in. building. there was a lot of people injured. i saw a man bleeding from his head. walking out. people were crying. it was stressful to see. >> reporter: the emergency calls began pouring in. >> we have a train that has gone through the station. >> we've got multiple walking wounded. serious structural damage. >> reporter: the one fatality, killed by falling debris. she wasn't on the strain. this man saw her buried. he rushed to comfort her. >> i knew she was in pain. she wasn't even acknowledging me. she was just looking off. and i was like miss, i'm not going to let you -- if you're going to die, it's not by yourself. i'll be with you. >> reporter: tonight the victim's mother saying her daughter was a beautiful girl inside and outside. jamie weather head was standing in the packed first car as it went through the platform. >> t people started screaming. >> reporter: she snapped the photos

michael larson a transit employee was inside the terminal about 30 feet away from the crash. >> i observed it coming at a high rate of speed. it went over the bumper block through the air, traveled about another 40 feet came to a rest. >> reporter: people were standing on the platform waiting to commute into new york city. >> there were folks hobbling around, people holding their limbs, holding their backs and things like that. there were definitely some bad injuries. >> reporter: officials say the station's roof partially collapsed on the train and debris littered the reception area. >> blood kind of like around their faces, um, people were, like, you know, kind of holding on to each other. >> reporter: rescue crews climbed through train cars to reach trapped passengers. the injured passengers were taken to a parking lot that turned into a triage area. federal investigators will try to figure out what happened here. they will look at various factors including the condition of the tracks and the speed of the train. >> so we're not going to speculate about the cause of the accident. fact is

. >> reporter: thirst feet away, michael larson, a new jersey transit employee was standing on the platform. >> it was just initially a horrendous, horrendous exploding noise and concrete dust, electrical wires >> reporter: the one person killed, a woman from hoboken, was not a passenger on the train but was standing on the platform when she was hit by debris. new york's governor andrew cuomo: >> we know what happened. we don't know why it happened. the train, obviously, came in at too high a rate of speed. it didn't stop. it went through the bar crers. when you see the destruction up close, the silver lining is that engineer william blaine, looking for something hopeful amidst all the trauma, jumped in to help. >> kaboom! the whole place shook, just shook. and everybody got quiet. when i turned and i ran out and i slid, i looked to the right, and i just saw people all over the ground and debris and everything all over the place. it was like we were a family. when you say americans, man, i'm not lying. everybody creed, color, ran and tried to help. >> reporter: that engineer who survived th

. >> reporter: michael larson om t station.om about 30 feet >> it went through the air, traveled about another 40 feet and the train flying into the depot. kind of -- couldn't believe what i was seeing. >> all of a sudden i just hear thisicked gnarly metal sound, like, nails on a chalkboard. >> reporter: as the dust settles, those first images. the first car badly damaged. train officials ushering commuters away from the scene, evacuating, one by one through a window. >> i saw a couple gentlemen bleeding and some people couldn't walk. the conductor had blood all over his face and his clothing. >> reporter: first responders descending on the scene, assessing damage. furthe train windows, looking for more survivors. some still stuck inside. >> we ran over and there were a lot of people kicking out windows, trying to exit the train. >> reporter: omar was inside the train. >> it was shaking side to side and the lights went on top of each other. >> reporter: right outside, the chaos. policefighters triage the stree. treating more than 100 injured. the train's engineer, thomas gallagher, amo

sot- michael larson i observed it coming at a high rate of speed it went over the bumper block, basically through the air, travelled about another 40 feet- came to a rest. witnesses say the force of the crash took out a support beam, given) i looked to the left and i see all of this metal and pipes burst and most of the injured passengers are being treated at the scene, while those more seriously injured have been transported to area hospitals. sot i believe those people in the front were very badly injured so they started yelling i guess once they saw the blood. commuters who had been inside the terminal are being evacuated. sot jennifer nelson it is not safe to go in their right now, it is closed to the public. all new jersey transit service into the hoboken station has transit official just confirmed to abc news the train came into the station at a high rate of ntsb officials are on their way to the scene. ray raimundi, abc news, hoboken new jersey. that is a story will we stay on top of throughout this newscast... wrapped itself around our upper level low, will be surging back to the

(michael larson) it was just a horrendous, horrendous exploding noise and concrete dust electrical wires flying into the depot. the crash caused part of the roof to collapse onto the first car where david mielach (my-lack) was standing. (david mielach) the lights went out then just didn't stop then people were falling over who were standing and then the roof came down. passengers inside helped each other escape. (mikescelzo/passenger ) the man behind me, he was covered in blood he had a make sure ok, everyone was ok people on the platform scrambled to safety. more than 100 people were hurt.. (jamie yuccas/cbs news, hoboken) around 50-thousand train and bus riders use the station each day. it's a popular transfer point for commuters on their way across the river to new york city. amy krulewitz says the crash is a life changer. (amy krulewitz/passenger) i'm afraid to get back on the train /butt to/i'm sure staying home tomorrow. investigators will now try to figure out what happened. it's anything other than a terrible accident the engineer is said to be in critical condition, but cooperat

michael larson a transit employee was inside of the terminal about 30 feet away from the crash. >> i observed it coming at a high rate of speed. it went over the bumper block, basically through the air, traveled about another 40 feet, and came to a rest. >> reporter: people were standing on the platform waiting to commute into new york city. >> will were folks, hobbling around, people holding their limbs, holding their backs and things like that. there was definitely some bad injuries. >> blood, kind of on their faces, and people were like, you know, holding on to each other. >> reporter: officials a station's roof partially collapsed on top of the train, mike was on board the train when the accident occurred, and said it was hard to see what was going on around them. >> we were between pieces of metal or what, but the first person in front of us had emergency window down and pulled window out and climbed out of that. >> reporter: rescue crews climbed through train cars to reached passengers under mangled metal and dangling wires. injured passengers were taken in the parking lot to t

>> reporter: i just talked with michael larson, a new jersey transit employee who actually witnessed the crash and was able to tell me a lot about it. he said the train hit the concrete block with such force that was at the end of the track that it actually went airborne and going airborne, it hit the roof and caused the roof to collapse. he said he watched the train crash and immediately ran into that first car and seeing the first car, he said the first half of the car, the roof of the train was actually crushed down on to the seats. he said he rescued three or four people who were there, then the first responders showed up and he let them do their job. he said the scene, he couldn't tell me how many people were trapped on that train, in that first car, because he just couldn't even get into the first car because the roof was actually on top of the seats. >> oh, my goodness. so paul, stop for a minute. i just want you, because that's interesting and very sad information. so this witness said the train went airborne and then the roof of the station came down on top of that first tra

>> reporter: michael larson entered the first car. >> they were crawling on their s and we were trying to get, you know, as many people out. i assisted in maybe three or four. >> reporter: you say america's man, i'm not lying. >> everybody color ran to try to help. >> reporter: 34-year-old fabiola bittar de kroon, the married mormg mother of a toddler was on the platform and killed by falling debris. she was a native of brazil and recently moved to hoboken. she had a husband and a child. that loss. >> reporter: people left through downed ceilings and live wires and asbestos coated debris. >> for trauma, it's about the golden hour. getting them to your trauma center within the first hour and that is what saves lives. >> reporter: governor chris christie said the people of new york and new jersey were tested by the event. >> regular commuters left the safety of where they were standing to rush to the train to help first responders ua this region has developed a resilience that is admired by the rest of the world. >> reporter: there are 21 people that remain in hospitals right now. govern