First-person accounts from the train crash

Triage at the scene. By Cliff Francoeur, who has more photos and a report from the scene. Matt Pillsbury also posted photos.

Andrew was on the train that got hit by a box car in Canton. He reports:

... We came to a dead stop (again, not surprising), and I waited to get going, knowing we weren't too far out of Canton Junction. What happened next was certainly the most surprising and startling moment of my life, as there was no advanced warning of any kind - suddenly I found, in one swift yet disjointed motion, my head thrown against the glass pane of the door, and my entire body lurching in the opposite direction - and not just away, backwards, but down.

The lights were out, my hat was thrown clear, and my IPod wasn't playing; in fact, my headphones weren't in at all. ...

Bob Baril reports his sister Dianne was in the first car:

... Dianne said the train was just about pulling into the station when the conductor verbally warned the passengers that a freight car had just rolled onto the track. She turned to look at the conductor and was suddenly and violently thrown forward. Since she was looking at the conductor, she hit the side of her head, but otherwise would have hit her face and might have had a broken nose and other serious problems. ...

Cliff Francoeur lives near the crash scene. When he got home, he grabbed a camera and went out:

... I saw a woman who was noticeably cold and shaken sitting and waiting to be seen. I put my jacket on her and sat with her to keep her company. There were so many people that were sitting staring off, or that had been strapped to a backboard staring up at the sky. The scene was overall, rather grim. We made small-talk as we waited for her to be seen. I heard one of the paramedics yell that he had room in his ambulance and one of the firemen that was trying to keep people moving along came over and asked if she was able to walk. I hadn't asked about her injuries as she seemed to need a distraction. The fireman seemed concerned and wanted to get her taken in to be checked out as soon as possible and asked if she could try to walk with his assistance. We both grabbed her arms and helped her along. ...

He's posted a series of photos from the scene.