Thomas Gallagher (New Jersey Train Engineer)
Thomas Gallagher (New Jersey Train Engineer)
Thomas Gallagher was a train engineer from Morris Plains, New Jersey.
Career and Education
Thomas Gallagher had worked as a train engineer for NJ Transit for 29 years. Before becoming a conductor he studied at Fairleigh Dickinson University. [1]
Train Crash
On September 29, 2016 Thomas Gallagher was the train engineer in charge of a Train No.
1614, a commuter train that crashed in the New Jersey Transit Train Crash September 2016, killing Fabiola Bittar de Kroon and injuring 108 people.
The train crashed into the terminal of the New Jersey Transit Hoboken station (PATH) while going a speed of 30 mph when the area had a speed limit of only 10 mph.
At the time of the crash about 250 people were aboard the train.
Fabiola Bittar de Kroon, a young mother and lawyer was killed after being hit by falling debris from the crash.
Witnesses claim that Thomas did not try to put on the brakes or slow down.
Another witness saw Thomas slumped over after the crash.
Some witnesses initially though the crash was an explosion.
“It sounded like a bomb went off,” said construction worker Charles Frazier of Roselle Park, N.J., describing the chaotic 8:45 a.m. scene.
“The roof collapsed.
The steel beams came down...People were trying to climb out the (train) windows.”
Thomas was hospitalized and released after the crash.
He is complying with the investigation into the crash by the National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Railroad Administration.
Before the crash Thomas did not have any infractions as a train engineer or a criminal record.