Hoboken Train Sped Up Before Crash, Emergency Brake Applied at Last Second, NTSB Says

— -- The train that crashed at the Hoboken, NJ station, killing one and injuring more than 100 last week, sped up in the seconds before crashing at the end of the track, the National Transportation Safety Board said today.

The train's event recorder indicates that approximately 38 seconds before the crash, while the locomotive was traveling at about 8 mph, the throttle was increased from idle to the No. 4 position.

Despite the station’s 10 mph speed restriction, the locomotive reached 21 mph before the throttle was set back to idle and the emergency brake deployed less than a second before the crash -- too late to save the train from barreling over the bumping post, officials said.

Video from the train's front-facing camera shows a "large flash" as the car collided with the wall just past the post, the NTSB said.

The train’s engineer, 48-year-old Thomas Gallagher, was injured in the crash, authorities said. According to a law enforcement official, preliminary tests indicate he was likely not under the influence of drugs or alcohol at the time of the accident, and he is cooperating with authorities.

The NTSB today removed the damaged train from the terminal.