Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Train Derailment in the Bronx; Actor Paul Walker Dead at 40

Aired December 01, 2013 - 16:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN ANCHOR: It's 4:00 in the east. 1:00 on the west coast. I'm Miguel Marquez. Thanks for joining us. These are the stories crossing the CNN news desk right now.

We're following two big stories. A passenger train derails in the Bronx, killing four, injuring more than 60. A live report from the scene, next. We're expecting a live news conference in about 30 minutes. We'll bring that to you live.

And tragedy in Hollywood. "Fast and Furious" star Paul Walker dead in a fiery car crash. The latest on the investigation, coming up.

We start in New York. Investigators are trying to figure out why a train flipped off the tracks this morning. Here's what we know for now. Four people were killed when the Metro North train derailed near Spuyten-Duyvil station in the Bronx. At least 67 other people hurt. Officials say 11 of those were seriously injured. There were about 150 people on the train according to the MTA.

Investigators combed the scene for any other victims, even sending divers into the water. But they believe everyone has been accounted for. We also now know the five off-duty New York Police officers were on that train as well. Three were taken to the hospital but they are all expected to be OK. The National Transportation Safety Board has sent a go-team to the scene. They are expected to give us an update in about half hour. We will bring that to you live.

We are covering every aspect of this story at the derailment site and at the hospital. Let's get out to the scene right now. Alexandra Field has the latest from the Bronx. Alexandra.

ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Miguel. This morning we saw hundreds of emergency responders circling this train that had come off the tracks. We are now waiting for the NTSB to take a look out here and give us their take on what could have happened. We're already seeing some investigators stopping to take pictures of the cars that went careening off the rails this morning.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FIELD (voice-over): What should have been a routine Sunday morning ride into New York City from Poughkeepsie turned deadly and instant after the metro north train lost control coming loose from the tracks around a short curve. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I just heard like a screeching noise, you know, I happened to be by the window. On top of the hill but I still heard a screeching noise. And then within seconds the ambulance and the fire trucks started coming passed my window. And I knew something big happened.

FIELD: Several cars flipped on their sides sending many passengers flying out of their seats.

AMANDA SWANSON, PASSENGER: I was just sitting on the train. I wasn't paying attention to anything in particular. And then all of a sudden the train has kind of felt like a little more sideways than it should be. By the time I looked up it was completely going off its track and there was just like the rubble from under the tracks like flying.

FIELD: Emergency first responders including divers searched the crash scene as a cadaver dogs combed the wreckage. Officials now believe all passengers have been accounted for.

GOV. ANDREW CUOMO, NEW YORK: We're trying to stabilize the situation right now. New York is blessed with the best first responders, I think, anywhere in the country.

FIELD: This is one of the busiest travel days of the Thanksgiving holiday and metro north is incredibly popular, carrying about 83 million passengers a year, nearly 16 million on the Hudson line where the crash happened. The National Transportation Safety Board is now investigating what went wrong, sending a go team to the scene.

DEBORAH HERSMAN, CHAIR, NTSB (ON THE PHONE): Hit the ground running. They are (INAUDIBLE) in the work that they do (INAUDIBLE) We've got people focusing on operation, track, human factors, crash worthiness and survivability.

FIELD: Officials tell CNN the operator says he applied the brakes but the train didn't slow down. At this point there are more questions than answers, a deadly and tragic end to a holiday weekend.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FIELD: And while this track remains shut down, Metro North says it will be providing buses for commuters this morning. Amtrak announced it would suspend its service from New York City to Albany. It has now restored, service around the affected area out here but it is telling passengers that they should still expect delays on that line. Miguel?

MARQUEZ: All right. Alexandra Field, keep us on just when exactly that NTSB press conference will begin. Thank you very much out there.

And let me give you a sense of how important these commuter trains are to New York City. The MRA rail lines move about 83 million passengers a year. The Hudson line where the derailment happened, it alone moved 16 million passengers a year. So this is a key part of the mass transit for people who live in the distant suburbs and commute into the city. The MTA has issued a warning to passengers on the Hudson line. They need to find alternative means of travel for tomorrow. Good advice.

67 people were hurt in that train crash and several were in pretty bad shape and sent to nearby hospitals. Nic Robertson is live for us at St. Barnabas Hospital in the Bronx. Nic, what are you hearing now about the injured. You said earlier some of them were in surgery.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Some of them still in surgery. Two critical. Of the 12 people that were brought here, one lucky young boy will be discharged. We're told by doctors he just suffered cuts and bruises. His father not so lucky. He's still being treated here. Doctors here have been describing to us just the severity of some of the injuries and the trauma people can expect in the future.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. DAVID LISTMAN, ST. BARNABAS HOSPITAL: Among the more serious injuries, there's one gentleman with a spinal cord injury that could be quite, quite serious. The other more serious injuries are severe fractures and what we call open fractures, fractures where the bone comes through the skin or the skin above the fracture outside the fracture is also broken through, also. Those are much more serious. The rates of infection and serious complications are higher with those sorts of injuries.

So there are two patients, one with an elbow area open fracture and one with an open fracture of the leg right around the knee area. Those patients will both likely require surgery.

DR. ERNEST PATTI, ST. BARNABAS HOSPITAL: In an accident like this, folks do come in and they're in shock. You know, emotionally they're in shock. Others may come in, and be in, you know, physiologic shock but emotionally everybody is traumatized. And some of them are going to suffer with post traumatic stress disorder after this. You know, this would be a trying thing to get back on a train.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTSON: Well, the doctors here say the accident and it happened and the casualties started coming in at perhaps the best time for the hospital. They were just changing trauma shifts between the night shift and the morning shift so they had the - they had additional staff in above what they would normally have.

At other times of the day people have come from other departments inside the hospital to help out. So they say they've been able to treat all the casualties that they've been getting here as well as they could hope so. Nine of them are expected to remain overnight right now, Miguel.

MARQUEZ: Nic Robertson for us at the hospital. Amazing that these - that there were so many survived and it happened, as sad as it was, at such a perfect time that the hospital being staffed up and emergency workers being there and it being a Sunday as well. Nic Robertson for us at the hospital. Thank you very, very much. Now, bad weather blamed for other travel headaches in parts of the northeast. Freezing rain in Massachusetts caused this 70-car pile-up. About 30 people are injured. Several spinouts and crashes are reported across the state.

Police say speed was a factor in the crash that killed "Fast and Furious" star actor Paul Walker. He is dead at 40 years old. CNN has obtained footage of the inferno taken by witnesses just moments after the crash.

When deputies arrived at the scene just north of Los Angeles they found one vehicle fully engulfed in flames and Walker and the driver dead. The 40-year-old Hollywood star had been filming the latest installment of the movie series that made him a star. He leaves behind a 15-year-old daughter. We'll have more on his life and death just ahead.

But next, more on the deadly train derailment in the Bronx, the section of New York. We're expecting the NTSB news conference. We'll bring that to you live as it begins. Coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MARQUEZ: Welcome back. We are waiting right now for a news conference from the National Transportation Safety Board. Investigators looking into the trail derailment in the Bronx that left four people dead. New York's governor was at the scene just after the derailment. I spoke to Governor Andrew Cuomo and asked him about the area where the train derailed.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CUOMO (ON THE PHONE): The Spuyten-Duyvil area, that is a dangerous area on the track just by design. The trains are going about 70 miles an hour coming down the straight part of the track. About 30 miles per hour to make that sharp curve. As you correctly pointed out, where the Hudson River meets the Harlem River. And that is a difficult area of the track but that doesn't explain this, either.

We're waiting for the NTSB to tell us exactly what happened. The train has a black box on them similar to an airplane black box. And that will give the speed of the train, whether or not the brakes were applied. There was an earlier report that the operator suggested that the brakes failed. Normally two factors, they'll look at the track conditions or the speed of the train, operator error. And we'll wait for NTSB on that.

They should have something later on this afternoon. Then we turn towards cleaning up the site so we can have the service commence again. It's a very important line for us, and we want to get it up and running for tomorrow. So there's a little impact on the commuters (INAUDIBLE).

MARQUEZ: And I understand that there were three Metro North workers on there. I don't know if they were all operators or they were conductors and operators. Do you know the condition of the operator himself or the other workers who were on that train?

CUOMO: Our understanding is at this time they're all stable. The operator is being treated, but we didn't believe they were life threatening - life threatening situation. They spent one line searches for good news in a situation like this. There are about 100 to 150 people on the train. It's a train that left, before just 6:00 this morning, from Poughkeepsie. If this had been a workday, if this was in the middle of the week, you would have had hundreds and hundreds of people on that train.

And to see the condition inside the trains is breathtaking because, as the train skidded along the dirt, it was picking up dirt and stones that were then being thrown throughout the car. So you can imagine what it would be like at that speed with the movement of the train itself, rolling on its side, you then had this debris that was shooting through the - through the cars. And there were serious debris of serious size. So it could have been much, much worse to lose four people this way just days after Thanksgiving and the holiday season truly is a tragedy. Remind us all how precious a gift life really is. These are four people who left their homes this morning, thinking they're going to be back or it was just another day and it turned out to be their last.

It's a sober reminder for us all to keep in mind during this -

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MARQUEZ: New York Governor Andrew Cuomo.

And you're looking now at a live picture of the Bronx. That is the scene as we wait for the National Transportation Safety Board. The NTSB briefing that will be held shortly. We expect in about 15 minutes and we expect also to bring that to you, live.

The death of actor Paul Walker in a fiery car crash, coming up next.

A closer look at the man and the movie that made him famous.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MARQUEZ: An action star's death is sending shockwaves through Hollywood and being felt around the world. "Fast and Furious" star Paul Walker killed in a car crash just north of Los Angeles. Police say speed was a factor. Paul Walker had just been filming the latest installment in the franchise that made him famous, "Fast and Furious 7."

His co-star Ludacris tweeting this, "Your humble spirit was felt from the start, wherever you blessed your presence and you always left a mark." Nischelle Turner takes a closer look at the man and the crash that stole his life. Nischelle?

NISCHELLE TURNER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Miguel, to say that Paul Walker's death has sent shockwaves through Hollywood is a little bit of an understatement. He's 40 years old, in the prime of his life. Currently shooting the seventh installment of one of the most popular movie franchises around. We're talking about "The Fast and the Furious." Now he played this high-octane car enthusiast in "The Fast and the Furious" and police say he actually died inside the Porsche that he was riding in at the scene. But they still have a lot of questions to be answered. What happened in this crash?

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right behind you.

TURNER (voice-over): One of Hollywood's most bankable star, Paul Walker, who has made a name for himself in "The Fast and Furious" movie franchise died in a fiery car crash in Santa Clarita, California. A second person also died in the accident. Both were attending a charity event for Walker's organization, Reach Out Worldwide. The event was intended to benefit the victims of typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines.

The crash happened just north of Los Angeles on Saturday afternoon. According to his representative, Paul Walker was not driving the 2005 Porsche. When deputies arrived the car was on fire. Both people in the car pronounced dead at the scene.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's nothing. We tried. We went through fire extinguishers.

TURNER: All that remains, burnt mangled metal and a light pole that's been knocked down. Authorities say speed was a factor. Walker wasn't just a car enthusiast on-screen. Off-screen the actor competed in the Red Line Time Attack racing series. He had been filming the seventh installment of "Fast and Furious" at the time of his death and some of Hollywood's biggest stars are reacting.

Co-star Vin Diesel said on his Instagram account, "Brother, I will miss you very much. I am absolutely speechless. Heaven has gained a new angel. Rest in peace." And another "Fast and Furious" co-star Ludacris tweeted, "Your humble spirit was left from the start. Wherever you bless your presence you always left a mark." And fellow actor Tyrese Gibson said, "My heart is hurting so bad, no one can make me believe this is real. My god, my god, I can't believe I'm writing this."

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TURNER: Paul Walker also had a 15-year-old daughter Meadow that many people are sending condolences to. While police say this was a single car crash, they are still trying to figure out what happened in the moments leading up to it. Miguel, back to you?

MARQUEZ: Thanks very much, Nischelle. Sad day.

Joining me now, CNN's Paul Vercammen. Paul, the production of "Fast and Furious 7" was in production. Supposed to come back here to Atlanta next week. Do we know how that will proceed now?

PAUL VERCAMMEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Universal is saying very little, as you may know, including one with Heath Ledger. There has been a (INAUDIBLE) in Hollywood where they use stand-ins so they can go ahead and proceed with that movie, Miguel. But right now the studio is not coming out with great detail yet, anyway. Miguel.

MARQUEZ: As many have said, it's going to be a little tough even if they can get the film finished. The subject matter of the film and the manner of his death obviously is going to be tough to get around. Yes?

VERCAMMEN: Absolutely. It's going to be something that, you know, just resonates with all of these people who adored Paul Walker and like him for his character. As you alluded to. He had been in seven of them, self-described adrenaline junkie. His life sort of interlock with racing. He had a stable of 20 to 30 race cars. He loved those lightweight BMWs and Porsches and some of his cars, in fact, were part of the movie. In fact, his favorite he said on his web page was R-33 Nissan Skyline. That was one of his favorites as well as a Toyota Supra. So hard to sort of unlink Paul Walker from the movie itself, Miguel.

MARQUEZ: And everything we know about this guy just an all around good guy in Hollywood?

VERCAMMEN: More than an all around good guy. In a town where everybody will gossip and talk about somebody who tears up sets and a headache, Paul Walker was a gentleman, he was gracious. We've heard many, many stories of his random acts of kindness, including the time he overheard an Iraq vet who could not afford a wedding ring. Walker anonymously bought that $10,000 ring for the vet and the vet never knew, Miguel.

MARQUEZ: Paul Vercammen for us in Hollywood. Thank you.

We are expecting the NTSB to give us an update on this deadly train crash in less than 10 minutes. Stay with us. We will bring it to you live.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MARQUEZ: Well, any moment now we are expecting an update from the National Transportation Safety Board on that deadly train derailment in the Bronx in the next few minutes. We expect to go to it live. You can see there a live picture of the place where that press conference will be starting.

Look at the crush of people and press out there hungry for information. Obviously this horrible train derailment and the crash killing four people, 67 others injured. Seven train cars came off the track, plus the engine. It happened just after 7:00 a.m. near the Spuyten-Duyvil Station that's on the Hudson line of the Metro North commuter rail.

At least 67 people injured. Rushed to several different hospitals. Fire officials said they had to come to the rescue of some people from under those trains. They were also divers in the water for much of the morning. Just concerned that some of the people may have been thrown into the water. Comes obviously at a very, very terrible time, a few days after Thanksgiving.

A lot of people on their way to work, getting their lives back going after Thanksgiving. And certainly an extremely heavy travel day. Fortunately it was not as heavy a travel day for this particular rail. Three things seem to play in the favor of those other victims who were on that plane - or on that train. The emergency services responded very quickly. The hospitals were all staffed up and the train itself was not as full as it otherwise would be.

Rene Marsh now joins me live from Washington. Rene, there have been other incidences with Metro North in the past year. What can you say about those other incidents?

RENE MARSH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Right, you know, Miguel, as we look at the scene there, really the big picture is in the backdrop of all of this, are those past incidents having to do with Metro North. I heard (INAUDIBLE), the chairman on our air tell you there have been several incidents on Metro North property and that's a concern.

So one of those incidents happening this May when two metro north trains going in separate directions collided in Bridgeport, Connecticut, injuring 70 people in that case. In that investigation the NTSB is still looking at Metro north's maintenance of the railroad tracks. We know that an Amtrak train that passed that accident site about 48 minutes before captured a photo of broken railroad track joint bars with is forward-facing video camera. That broken track joint may have caused the derailment. But again, you're looking at that photo right there. What's really important to take from this is that it shows how the NTSB can essentially collect information from a variety of sources to figure out what may have caused the problem, what went wrong and what we're seeing here today.

MARQUEZ: Yes. Everybody looking at speed here. Obviously it's probably too early to begin to say anything specific about that. But whether or not it was a broken rail, I did speak to one accident investigator who said it did not appear to be a broken rail to him, scenario where a broken rail would be the case because the entire train went off. It went straight off into the embankment and then down toward the water. It is amazing that more people didn't get killed in this given the speed at which this train was going. The governor earlier saying that the straight part of that track just before that curve, 70 miles per hour is the norm. And then it -- the trains are meant to slow down to about 30 miles per hour.

Can you tell us a bit about the braking system on these trains? That was something early that we heard that the conductor may have tried to apply the brakes and they may not have worked? What can you say about not only the main braking systems but the emergency braking systems on these trains?

MARSH: Right. We've heard the reports that this conductor said that he pressed on the brakes but they didn't respond. And so you know we've been talking about those boxes on the train, the so-called black boxes. And why they want to really hone in on those boxes is because they're going to be able to find some information about was speed a factor, was this train going extremely fast or perhaps it was not. But that black box is supposed to collect information that would help answer that question.

Also, were the brakes being applied? If they find that box is in good condition, they may be able to get answers to those questions. Most likely they will be able to. We can tell you this, Miguel, typically the NTSB they issued a preliminary report about ten days following an event and it usually contains some basic factual information. But it usually takes about a year for the board to rule on probable cause for the incident. So it will be quite some time before we know exactly what caused this derailment in this first briefing that we're going to get shortly, we'll get some preliminary information but again, that preliminary report probably won't come for another ten days or so.

MARQUEZ: Yes. And the Spuyten-Duyvil area, we know that these -- that there was another Metro north incident, it was a freight train going north bound, just north of where this train crashed. We know that the tracks go down to two tracks in this area. The governor said as well that this is a problematic corner. It's a very narrow space. Metro north had said earlier that the two were not connected. Do you know if they will be looking at all of these incidents as they move forward?

MARSH: Yes, they will be. That incident that you're talking about there in July, a freight train hauling trash, it derailed in an area very close to where today's accident happened. So they will be looking at these past incidents because what they want to try and figure out is, is there a pattern of issues here that, is there a bigger safety issue that someone is missing. Is this a signal of a systemic problem having to do with safety? And that's why those past incidents are going to be so important, because they want to know, are there any similarities here, are there any dots to be connected. So to answer your question, yes, they will be looking at that and, again, that July accident that you talked about, that derailment happening in just around -- very close to where this accident happened today.

MARQUEZ: Yes. And this train, seven cars, one engine, eight in total. All seven cars were affected but only, I think about four, perhaps five of them, actually went off the tracks. The others were just sort of sideways on the tracks. We heard some amazing survival stories given the speed at which they went off the track, that people actually survived this thing is incredible because there was so much rocks and dirt and debris being thrown up into the train cars as they were hurdling toward the water. People did not end up in the water there.

I understand both the Transportation Department, the Railroad Services Administration, and the NTSB will be part of this investigation? How big will this thing be? It sounds like they're sending an army up there.

MARSH: Right. And this is how oftentimes we see these investigations work. And they all do work together in sharing information. The Department of Transportation Secretary Fox, he put out a statement, he did say his investigators will be a part of this. And we know that the NTSB will also speak with the union representing railroad workers, they'll also speak and work with folks that represent Metro north. So this will be a huge collaboration. That's usually how these investigations go. Just to delve in a little bit more into Metro north itself. We did look at its safety record and in looking at the past two years we know in 2011 there were five derailments. Last year there were three derailments as it relates to Metro north. And for this year, the government which tracks these incidents list three derailments, although it's unclear if today's incident is included in the count there.

MARQUEZ: I have a tough question for you. I know you follow a lot of this stuff so I'm throwing a dart here and hoping I hit a bull's-eye. Do you have any sense of the configuration of this train; the engine at the back of the train, the cars forward was the one that went off the train. Would that any anyway add to the severity or the problem with making a sharp turn at high speeds?

MARSH: You know, I'm going to defer to the investigators as far as what may have caused this because it is so early in this investigation. So it's really hard to say. I know that there are reports out there about this sharp turn that the train was forced to make. But there are so many other factors that they're going to have to look at. I mean, we just simply do not know at this point, so I dare not venture into trying to speculate as far as what may have caused this. But I'm aware of those reports there, Miguel, about that sharp turn. We're looking at video of it right now as we speak.

But again, as they get there and they collect that information, and you heard chairman Hirschman say they are fighting against the clock to collect as much evidence as possible before they run out of daylight and, of course, wanting to collect that information to piece together the bigger picture of what went wrong.

MARQUEZ: One of the incredible pictures that we see at the scene is the number of investigators walking along those tracks in a row looking for any piece of evidence that might lead -- be a clue or indicate to them what went wrong here. Some initial words from the operator of the train saying that he applied the brake and that it did not work. Others now saying the governor when I spoke to him, saying that it might be a little premature to go down that road and say that the brake did not work. I take it the fact that we have -- and that the operator is alive and well in the hospital, but is expected to survive and be fine. I take it a big piece of this investigation and one big help to it will be the fact that so many survivors are there to give their account of what actually happened.

MARSH: Absolutely. Yes, that is just as important as the evidence that they're going to be able to collect there at the scene, is just what did people see, what did people hear, what did people feel. Again, any little piece of information helps them piece together this picture because, as we established earlier, those event recorders that are located on these trains, they don't record as much data as you would see on those flight data recorders that are on airplanes. So they will be relying heavily on other information, whether it be witness accounts, whether it be surveillance video or any other pictures that they could collect. One other additional point there that I --

Rene, I want to cut you off. Andrew Cuomo, the governor of New York, is now about to speak.

(BEGIN LIVE PRESS CONFERENCE COVERAGE)

GOV. ANDREW CUOMO, NEW YORK: I want to welcome the NTSB that has arrived onsite. I want to thank them very much for their speedy and expeditious response. They're here with a full team and they're going to commence in an investigation. The MTA will be cooperating fully with the NTSB in this investigation. The MTA wants to know as much as anyone what happened with this accident, if there is a lesson to be learned because safety is job one. We want to see the trains perform and perform on time but safety is job one. So any lessons to be learned from this tragedy is what we want to know and that's basically the purpose of the NTSB's investigation onsite.

Once the NTSB is finished with their investigation, then the site will be turned over to the MTA to actually commence repair work. There is a crane that is now in route that will right the trains which will be part of the investigation and part of the review of the site, but only once the NTSB is finished with the investigation can the MTA seriously start to fix the tracks. The MTA will be updating people periodically as to what the schedule will be for the repairs and the return of service. I think it's fair to say that tomorrow people who use this line should plan on a long commute or plan on using the Harlem line. But MTA.info is where you can go for the most recent information on service.

I want to thank all the first responders who have been heroic all day long. New York City Police Department, the fire department, the MTA, the Amtrak, colleagues from the federal government were here very early and really performed admirably. The emergency services in this state, I believe, are second to none. Unfortunately we've had too much experience in emergency service over these past --

MARQUEZ: It sounds like we just lost the governor. We're obviously going to try to re-establish connection here. That will be just a few minutes. The governor going through the various headaches that they will be having. Here is the governor again.

CUOMO: New Yorkers this morning. We have 11 who are critically injured who are still in the hospitals. And I would ask all New Yorkers to remember them in your prayers tonight. It's most unfortunate that this comes during the holiday season. And I think it's a reminder to all of us that life is a precious gift. Take every day as exactly that, as a gift, because every day is precious. With that, I'll turn it over to Mr. Weener from the NTSB who is a board member who is going to be conducting the investigation. Thank you.

EARL WEENER, NTSB: Thank you, Governor.

Thank you.

The National Transportation Safety Board. The investigators from the NTSB arrived on scene today about 12:30. The NTSB is an independent federal agency charged by congress with investigating all aviation- related accidents and significant accidents in rail, marine, highway, and pipeline. We also issue safety recommendations to avoid having the same accidents again.

Before I go any further, on behalf of the NTSB I'd like to extend our condolences to the family and friends of the victims of this tragic accident. Here's the factual information that we have at this point in time. At approximately 7:20 this morning a metro link -- Metro north railroad train was derailed. The train was en route from Poughkeepsie to Grand Central Station. Off the entire train, seven cars and locomotive were all derailed.

Preliminary reports, we've received 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 -- 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 will be leading a multi-disciplinary team.

That team -- that team involves several sub-teams. 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 recorders. The operations team will be looking at what procedures were in place and how those procedures had been followed. The human performance team will be looking at the performance of the train crew and identifying any anomalies therein. And finally, survival factors team will be documenting the interior of the cars and trying to understand exactly how people were injured or killed.

There will be an organization meeting this evening in which these teams will be formed. The parties to the investigation will include the Federal Railway Administration, the New York Public Transportation Safety Board, Metro North Railroad, the teamsters who represent the maintenance of way organization and employees and the Association of Commuter Rail Employees.

We will also involve the Emergency Response Organization. As the governor mentioned, we realize that this is a very important railway for commuters in the New York area. We've already okayed the up righting of the locomotive to stop the fuel spill. We've also okayed the up righting of the cars that are on the side to look for any possible further injuries or fatalities. We will be documenting the interiors of the cars so that we can understand the crash worthiness. We will be documenting the condition of the rolling stock, the trucks, the railway tracks, et cetera.

Following this documenting of the perishable evidence we will then turn the rail over to Metro North who will then rerail and get the line back in operation. Throughout this we'll be working closely with the New York Police Department, fire department, and the Office of Emergency Management. In addition to our investigators we have specialists from the Office of Transportation Disaster Assistance who will be working with the Metro North Railroad and the New York City Office of Emergency Management.

Throughout the next few days our investigators will work on-scene to thoroughly document the accident scene gathering the factual information. Our mission is to understand not just what happened but why it happened, with the intent of preventing it from happening again. We expect to be on-scene from a week to ten days. Obviously since we're just beginning the investigation, we don't have a great deal of other information to report. However, we will keep you informed with regular press briefings. For the latest information, we encourage you to follow us on twitter at NTSB.gov on our website. One final comment, I'd like to take a moment to thank the first responders for their efforts in this accident. I would be happy to take a few questions.

(UNIDENTIFIED MALE): Can we ask you about concern about maintenance and repair on this line, because I know the governor has had some concerns. The same question to both you and the governor. What has been your concern about that with the NTSB and MTA if they complied with you?

WEENER: So the question is are we really going to be looking at the maintenance? Yes, we are going to be looking at maintenance records of the rails, the cars, as well as personnel records, in addition to maintenance records.

(UNIDENTIFIED MALE): Governor, what's your concern about that?

CUOMO: I think the -- this is an opportunity for the NTSB to review the entire operation, review this accident, all the procedures. As I said before, safety is job one and if there is a lesson to learn from this tragedy we want to make sure that we learn it so we're probably most eager to hear the results of the NTSB investigation, whatever it is.

(UNIDENTIFIED MALE): Have you spoken to your conductor?

WEENER: We have not spoken to the conductor. We anticipate interviewing the train crews in the next day or two.

(UNIDENTIFIED MALE): This spot in July, what concerns do you have that this happened so close to that last derailment and could the two be related at all?

WEENER: The question is, is this derailment associated with the derailment, I believe the freight train in July. And the answer is, we'll be looking at that but at this point in time we have no indication that it's -- that it's a factor.

(UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE): Do we know how the train was being pushed? Was it pushed from the back engine?

WEENER: What was the configuration of the train? The train was being pushed from the back of the train.

(UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE): Could that cause a derailment? Would that cause any problems for it to derail? WEENER: We will certainly look at any contribution that may have had in the derailment.

(UNIDENTIFIED MALE): Is it hard to apply the brakes on a train when it's being pushed from the back? There have been reports that the train operator had said he tried to apply the brakes. Do you know anything about that or just knowing how the train works?

WEENER: So the question is, could that configuration have been a factor. The answer is, we don't know at this point. We will be looking at it. Was there what? No, the train was being pushed with a diesel locomotive from the back of the train. There's no engine in the front. Those are unpowered cars from a traction point of view, yes. Do we know if the signals were functioning?

(UNIDENTIFIED MALE): The cabs.

WEENER: Do we know if the cab signals were functioning properly? At this point, it's too early to tell. We'll certainly look at it. We've had a chance to thoroughly look over the scene and start documenting the condition of the rails. Start documenting the condition of the cars. And then night fell.

(UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE): How concerned are you of the speed cars? There was a second accident. Are you worried about how this -- maybe speed was a factor.

CUOMO: Well, that is the question. The curve has been here for many, many years, right? And trains take the curve every day, 365 days a year. So it's not the fact that there's a curve here. There's a curve here. The Hudson River hits the Harlem River and goes down to the East River. So we have always had this configuration. We didn't have accidents so there has to be another factor and that's what we want to learn from the NTSB.

If there is a change at the MTA can make, great. That's what it's all about. But first we have to get the results of the investigation before we know what we're trying to fix, if anything. But it can't just be the curve. That is -- that in and of itself is not the answer. Yes, there was a situation a few months back with a freight train but that is in the same general area but not the same specific area. So we have no reason to believe those two things are related, either.

But I do want to thank the NTSB for their speedy response and, as I said, the MTA will fully cooperate. I've spoken to them about that. Anything the NTSB needs, they'll get from the MTA. And when they're finished with their investigation, we'll proceed accordingly. Thank you.

WEENER: Thank you.

MARQUEZ: All right. Clearly we are wrapping up that press conference. The NTSB also clearly just getting on its feet as it goes about its work trying to get this taken care of. The NTSB may be answering one more question there at the end. The governor putting a fine point on it that he wants to wait for the NTSB before taking any action. There is a question as to whether or not the governor can order the -- let's actually go back to the NTSB for now and see what he's saying.

WEENER: -- the vehicle event recorders and incidentally we have recovered the event recorder off the cab car. We have downloaded the data off the locomotive. We have not had a chance to analyze it or verify it at this point. Thank you. Thank you very much.

MARQUEZ: An important point there by the NTSB investigators, saying that 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. A 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 Rene?

MARSH: 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 hearing this report about this curve that this train had to go around. And someone there asked the governor that very question. And he was pretty adamant that it had to do with more than the curve. Of course, the NTSB will make their final findings there but the thinking there is that simply there are other factors involved here so they're going to be trying to look into what those other factors are. Miguel.

MARQUEZ: Rene Marsh for us in Washington, D.C. thank you very much.

More ahead. Be right back after this break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MARQUEZ: Thank you very much for joining us on this tough end to a Thanksgiving weekend. I hand you over now to the capable hands of my colleague in New York, Rosa Flores. Thanks for tuning in.