NJ Transit To Pay Millions To Victims Of 2016 Hoboken Train Crash

HOBOKEN, NJ — NJ Transit has agreed to pay settlements — each at least $500,000 — to four victims of a 2016 train crash in the Hoboken train terminal, the Associated Press reported Friday. These include three people who were injured in the crash and the family of a 34-year-old Hoboken mom who has killed by falling debris on her way to work.

READ MORE ON PATCH: Four years after a young mom was killed in a Hoboken crash, NJ Transit has installed Positive Train Control

The transit agency has not publicly shared how much it will pay out.

On the morning of Sept. 29, 2016, a speeding NJ Transit train crashed into the end of the line at Hoboken terminal, causing debris to rain down and kill a young mother. The mother, Fabiola de Kroon, had just dropped her toddler daughter at day care in Hoboken and was about to commute to New York.

More than 100 people were injured but there were no other fatalities.

An investigation determined that the conductor's sleep apnea may have paid a part in the crash. He was ultimately rehired by the transit agency, but with conditions.

De Kroon's husband moved with the toddler to join her family in Brazil. He announced his intention to sue in late 2016.

A GoFundMe for DeKroon's daughter raised more than $20,000, but its organizer said that DeKroon's husband and daughter decided to give the money to orphan homes in the young mother's hometown of Santos, Brazil.

The AP said Friday that three other people settled lawsuits with the transit agency this week: Deepti Chanana Bhalla of Hoboken, Sheldon Kest of Tenafly, and Bagyalakshmi Subramaniam of Bergenfield.

At the time of the crash, critics argued that had the agency installed Positive Train Control, a computerized system regulating train speed, the crash would not have happened. NJ Transit finally completed installation of PTC this past December.

Want to be the first on your block to get Hoboken breaking news alerts or a daily morning digest of news in the mile-square city? You can sign up for Patch alerts and/or a free a daily digest of news here: Sign up and choose your preferences.

Got news? Email caren.lissner@patch.com. Got photos? Please include express written permission from the photographer for us to use them. To be the first to get free news alerts with breaking stories in your town, or to get a free local newsletter each morning, sign up for Patch breaking news alerts or daily newsletters.