What to Know
- Sheldon Kest was in the front car of the NJ Transit train at the time of the wreck
- He suffered a broken nose and lacerations to his head and face
- The intent to file didn't say what he is seeking in the lawsuit, but Kest said he's had nightmares since the crash
A New Jersey man who lost part of a finger and suffered other injuries in last month's Hoboken train crash has filed notice of his intent to sue.
Lawyers for Sheldon Kest, of Tenafly, announced the lawsuit during a news conference in Newark on Tuesday.
The 66-year-old was a passenger in the front car of the NJ Transit train that crashed into the terminal on Sept. 29. Aside from losing part of his finger, he suffered a broken nose and lacerations to his head and face.
Kest said he has had nightmares since the crash.
"I was always a sound sleeper, but not anymore,” he said. “Now I get up several times during the night, reliving those horrible moments in the first car of that train.”
Kest said that he wasn't able to get out of the crashed train car with everyone else because he had recently had a knee surgery. But he said another woman in the car was able to open a window.
"Luckily the young woman sitting in the window by my row managed to open the window and jump out. I then went over to the window and started shouting," he said.
Two men heard his cries and helped lift him out of the car and carried him on their shoulders so he could get to a spot to be triaged.
Kest added that he isn't sure if he'll be able to ride NJ Transit again and that riding in a car gives him anxiety now.
Local
Investigators say the engineer was going 21 mph, which is more than double the 10 mph speed limit at the station, just before the crash. The crash killed one woman standing on the platform and injured more than 100.
The preliminary filing doesn't say what Kest is seeking in the lawsuit.
An NJ Transit spokeswoman declined comment on the suit.
Eight of the 17 tracks at Hoboken Terminal reopened Monday, while the others will remain out of service until further notice as repair work continues in that section of the busy station, where commuters connect with other trains and with ferries heading into New York City,
With the resumption of service, a new rule will require that the conductor join the engineer whenever a train pulls into the terminal. That means a second set of eyes will be watching as a train enters the final phase of its trip at stations where there are platforms at the end of the rails.
The engineer in the crash was alone at the time. He has told federal investigators he has no memory of the crash.
