100 Injured as Crowded Trains Crash in Boston

A commuter train carrying hundreds of passengers rammed into the rear of another crowded train stopped in a tunnel at a downtown station today, injuring as many as 100 passengers who were sent “flying down the aisle,” officials said.

At least seven of the injuries were serious and at least two dozen others were loaded onto city buses and taken to hospitals, officials said.

The others were treated in the lobby of the Back Bay station.

One train was stopped at the downtown Back Bay station when the other crashed into it at about 8:30 a.m., said Vicente Carbona, a spokesman for the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. Passengers said the second train was traveling at about 10 m.p.h.

1,500 Passengers

The two trains carried a total of 1,500 passengers. The most seriously hurt suffered broken bones, rescue workers said.

Seven of the passengers suffered serious injuries, Carbona said. Those injuries appeared to be neck- or back-related, said emergency medical technicians.

The accident caused panic among the passengers on the trains, said Robin Landry of Stoughton.

“I normally stand up--I sat down today for some reason,” said Landry, who was not injured. “The next thing I knew we just hit something. People were flying down the aisle. People were getting very upset. We couldn’t get the door opened.”