Amtrak says rail service between New York and Philadelphia will not be up and running again until Tuesday.
Tracks and other equipment still need to be repaired after last week's train derailment in Philadelphia that killed eight people and left more than 200 injured.
Modified Amtrak service between Washington and Philadelphia will continue through Monday and New Jersey Transit is honoring Amtrak tickets between New York City and Trenton.
On Friday, investigators asked the FBI to look at whether a projectile, like a rock or bullet, hit Amtrak Regional 188 moments before it sped up and derailed at a curve in Philadelphia Tuesday night..
The latest information comes after NTSB investigators interviewed three Amtrak employees — including 32-year-old engineer Brandon Bostian.
Bostian remembers ringing the train's bell as it passed through North Philadelphia station, about 4 miles from the crash site, but his memory is blank after that point, NTSB's Robert Sumwalt said. The interview lasted an hour and a half and Bostian, accompanied by his lawyer, was described as "extremely cooperative."
A driver was killed after a truck crashed into Lower Moreland High School Saturday afternoon, leaving a large hole in the side of the building.
The vehicle struck the school, located on 555 Red Lion Road in Lower Moreland Township, shortly before 2 p.m.
Officials told NBC10 the driver died from his or her injuries. The victim has not yet been identified.
No students or staff were injured during the crash.
Officials say a janitor was at work at the time of the accident but was not in his office when the truck came crashing through. The vehicle struck a water pipe which caused flooding inside the building. The crash also caused an interruption to electric and water service inside the school.
Crews are working to remove the truck without causing further damage to the building.
A music fundraiser set to take place at the school Saturday night has been canceled. School officials have not yet determined whether classes will be canceled Monday. They will notify parents once a decision is made.
This story is developing. Stay with NBC10.com for updates.
A man died from his injuries after he crashed his vehicle into a fence in Lumberton, New Jersey Saturday morning.
Richard Gottlieb, 65, of Lumberton, was driving at Landing Street and Eayrestown Road at 10:38 a.m. when he somehow lost control of his vehicle and went off road. The vehicle struck a fence and several trees before finally coming to a stop on private property.
Gottlieb was pronounced dead at the scene of the crash. Landing Street was closed for about four hours.
Lumberton Township Police are investigating the cause of the crash. If you have any information, please call the Lumberton Township Police Special Investigations Unit at 609.267.1111 ext. 121 or 609.267.8300.
A northern New Jersey police officer who fatally shot a dog after going to the wrong address to investigate a burglary has been exonerated by police.
Wyckoff Police Chief Benjamin Fox released a statement Friday and says that after the department's Internal Affairs Unit conducted an investigation, he concluded that officer Kyle Ferreira had given an honest account.
Fox says Ferreira believed the dog could cause serious bodily harm after it bit one of his feet. He says Ferreira followed state attorney general's office guidelines for the use of deadly force.
The Bergen County prosecutor declined to investigate the incident.
Ferreira had shot the German shepherd four times in April after being dispatched to the wrong house.
The family that owned the dog says they are disappointed by the outcome.
A man was robbed at gunpoint of $13,000 in casino winnings early Saturday morning, police said.
The 43-year-old man told police he played blackjack at the Sugar House Casino on North Delaware Avenue between 11 p.m. Friday and 4:30 a.m. Saturday. He then cashed out after he was up approximately $13,000.
The man then took a taxi to a home on South Mildred Street. As soon as he arrived and walked towards the home, an armed man dressed in all black with a mask covering the lower half of his face approached him, police said. The gunman pressed a semi-automatic handgun to the left side of the victim's head and told him to get on the ground, according to investigators.
The gunman went through the victim's pockets and stole a wallet, an iPhone 5c and the $13,000 in cash, police said. The suspect then allegedly made the victim place a flower pot over his head and fled southbound on South Mildred in a small dark-colored SUV.
The victim accessed the GPS on his iPhone and called police. Investigators determined his phone was on the 100 block of East Allen Street. When they arrived they spotted a blue 2005 Nissan Murano that fit the description of the suspect's vehicle. As one of the officers approached the vehicle, the suspect, a 23-year-old man, fled from the driver's side, police said.
The suspect allegedly emptied his pockets as he ran towards the Sugar House Casino. He then went inside the casino and hid in the bathroom, according to investigators. More police officers arrived at the scene, found the suspect and arrested him.
The victim later arrived at the casino and identified the suspect as the man who robbed him. Police later located another 23-year-old man who they believe was the driver of the getaway vehicle.
Investigators recovered the victim's phone, approximately $5565, a set of car keys and several Sugar House Casino chips.
Officials have not yet identified the two suspects or the specific charges against them.
Following Tuesday's deadly derailment in Philadelphia, the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) has instructed Amtrak to immediately take several actions to improve safety along its Northeast Corridor.
Amtrak has been ordered to expand the use of a speed restriction system in the area of the crash to northbound trains, assess the curve speeds along the Northeast Corridor and increase the amount and frequency of signage about authorized speeds on different areas of the tracks.
Amtrak Train 188 derailed Tuesday as it entered a curve at 106 mph in Philadelphia, killing eight passengers and injuring more than 200. Federal investigators will take months to determine the cause of the crash. Speed, not equipment failure, has emerged as a key factor, although the FBI is also looking into the train possibly being struck by a projectile.
"We are continuing to work with the NTSB to understand exactly what happened on Tuesday so we can prevent this type of devastating accident from ever happening again," U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said Saturday in a press release. "While we do not yet know everything that happened, we do know - without question - that protecting rail passengers is our top priority.”
The actions ordered by the FRA are expected to be formalized in the coming days via an emergency order, the release said.
"These are just initial steps, but we believe they will immediately improve safety for passengers on the Northeast Corridor," said Acting Federal Railroad Administrator Sarah Feinberg.
Amtrak has said it hopes to restart limited service Monday.
Specific details about the order:
Technology to control train speeds: Automatic Train Control - ATC - is currently in use for southbound trains at and near the derailment site to enforce speed restrictions. Amtrak has been ordered to immediately ensure that same technology is in use to enforce speed restrictions for northbound trains. ATC detects when a train is traveling above the speed limit, sending a signal to the engineer. If the engineer fails to act to slow the train down, ATC will automatically apply the train's brakes.
Assess risk at all curves on NEC: Amtrak has been ordered to analyze all curves on the NEC to assess risk. In areas where approach speed is significantly higher than curve speed, the appropriate technology intended to prevent over-speed derailments must be implemented immediately. Amtrak must also take a new look at all curves along the corridor and determine if more can be done to improve safety in any of these areas. Amtrak will report back to the Federal Railroad Administration with its findings.
Speed limit signage: Amtrak must increase its wayside signage alerting engineers and conductors of the maximum authorized speed throughout the NEC. Increasing the amount and frequency of signage provides a redundant means to remind engineers and conductors of the authorized speed, in addition to information they receive from the ATC system and other operations documents.
Thunderstorms and rain are moving through our area.
A severe thunderstorm warning was in effect for southeastern Lehigh, northwestern Montgomery, Bucks, southeastern Northampton and East Central Berks counties until 7:45 p.m. Saturday.
A line of storms also moved into the Philadelphia area.
This story is developing. Check back for updates.
Crews battled a fire at a shop on the Ocean City Boardwalk in Ocean City, New Jersey.
The fire started on the 7th Street Surf Shop on 654 Boardwalk Saturday night. Firefighters were eventually able to bring the flames under control.
Officials have not yet revealed whether anyone was injured or the cause of the blaze.
This story is developing. Stay with NBC10.com for updates.
Crews battled a fire at Philadelphia Floor Store and Centex Blinds in Conshohocken Sunday morning.
The fire started along the 1000 block of Colwell Lane after 3:00. Officials said a firefighter on the way to another fire noticed the blaze.
Emergency officials urged residents in the smoky area surrounding the fire to shelter-in-place due to the possibly toxic fumes. The shelter-in-place was later lifted.
Plymouth Fire Company Chief Michael Burton reported multiple explosions were heard on scene once fire crews arrived.
Gas and electric services were cut off to about 100 nearby homes as a precaution, according to PECO officials.
Chief Burton said officials with the Department of Environmental Protection and Montgomery County Hazmat were called to the scene to assist with chemical run-off from the fire.
The fire reached three alarms as crews worked to bring the flames under control.
No one was injured during the blaze.
Officials continue to investigate the cause.
Drivers in New Jersey could soon pump their own gas under a bill being introduced in the Assembly.
Under current law residents are not permitted to pump their own gas. New Jersey and Oregon are the only two states that require attendants to pump gas.
Republican Assemblyman Declan O'Scanlon said Saturday the bill would authorize drivers to fuel cars themselves. The bill calls for a three-year period where merchants can offer self-service gas but must also provide full service. A similar measure has been introduced in the Senate. O'Scanlon says his bill would be introduced in June.
O'Scanlon calls the current law unnecessary and says it can lead to inconvenient waits at the pump. Supporters of the current law say it promotes safety, but O'Scanlon questions whether 48 other states are less safe for letting motorists pump gas.
"New Jersey is the greatest state in the country," O'Scanlon said. "We have plenty of things to be proud of. I'm not going to lament this outdated government regulation."
New Jersey's gas-pumping mandate reaches back to the 1949 Retail Gasoline Dispensing Safety Act, which requires trained attendants to pump gasoline.
That act found that prohibiting self-service stations promotes "the common welfare by providing increased safety and convenience without causing economic harm to the public in general."
News of the bill was first reported by NJ.com.
The U.S. attorney prosecuting allies of Gov. Chris Christie in the George Washington Bridge lane-closing scandal is known as a fierce litigator whose lengthy experience as a defense attorney exerts a balancing effect on his decisions as a prosecutor.
Equally evident is Paul Fishman's knack for avoiding speculation or expressing anything that could be considered an opinion. It's a quality that may frustrate reporters eager for a sound bite, but it reflects a deep understanding of his role and its responsibilities, former colleagues say.
The 16-month investigation into the closing of access lanes on the New Jersey side of the bridge, purportedly to punish a Democratic mayor for not endorsing Christie's re-election bid, culminated May 1 with the indictment of Christie's former deputy chief of staff and his top appointee to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which operates the bridge.
Christie, who preceded Fishman as U.S. attorney, has denied any involvement in the lane closings and hasn't been charged with any wrongdoing.
At a packed news conference to announce the indictment, Fishman worked the crowd like a pro, eliciting more than a few laughs but refusing several times to be baited into offering his opinion on the indictment as representative of a larger "culture of corruption."
His job, Fishman said, is to determine "A, what happened; B, is it a federal crime; C, who's responsible and D, can we prove it beyond a reasonable doubt? That's it."
To people who have worked with him over the years, it came as no surprise.
"As a federal prosecutor, you're supposed to be neutral," said author and former state Attorney General John Farmer, who worked with Fishman as an assistant U.S. attorney in the early 1990s. "You're supposed to confine your comments to the four corners of whatever the charges are, or else you sound like a politician. Paul does a good job walking that fine line."
Some of his peers haven't always been as circumspect.
Last month, for example, Preet Bharara, U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, was scolded by a judge who wrote that his comments on indicted state Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, including that Silver practiced "the greedy art of secret self-reward," came close to crossing ethical boundaries.
In New Jersey in 2009, acting U.S. Attorney Ralph Marra was accused of making comments aimed at helping Christie, who had resigned several months earlier to run for governor, at a news conference announcing a large-scale corruption bust. A Justice Department investigation cleared Marra of wrongdoing.
Christie made corruption a stated priority and won well over 100 guilty pleas or convictions of public officials during his tenure.
Fishman has pursued corruption more selectively but has gained significant convictions in other areas such as mortgage fraud, identity theft and health care fraud.
Appointed by President Barack Obama in 2009, Fishman's roots in the public sector stretch back to the summer of 1980 when he interned in the same office he would eventually lead. After graduating from Harvard Law School, where he was managing editor of the Harvard Law Review, he joined the office in Newark as an assistant U.S. attorney in 1983 and by 1989 headed its criminal division, supervising 30 attorneys.
Farmer recalled in his first year being paired with Fishman for the sensational extortion and kidnapping trial of Kent Clark and Darryl DeVose, who had been fugitives for five years before being apprehended.
"I was new but Paul was the veteran on the team, and he did a phenomenal job," Farmer said. "It's a pretty intense environment, and you either come out of it best friends or never wanting to see each other again."
As is common for many assistant U.S. attorneys, Fishman switched to the private sector, where he spent more than a decade defending white-collar clients, often against the Christie-led U.S. attorney's office in Newark.
In one case, Fishman got charges dismissed against a Brazilian implicated in a large-scale international money laundering operation.
"He was someone all the junior attorneys wanted to work with, because he was working on interesting matters and because he was perceived as a good mentor and someone that you learned a lot from," said Lee Vartan, a New York-based attorney who worked under Fishman in private practice and, later, in the U.S. attorney's office.
Having experience defending clients can help a prosecutor anticipate what a defense attorney might do, but it also makes for the kind of measured approach Fishman appears to have taken with the bridge case, Vartan and others said.
"He's aware of the impact that bringing criminal charges has on someone's life, whether they're convicted or acquitted," said Robert Mintz, a criminal defense attorney who worked with Fishman in the U.S. attorney's office. "He wasn't going to succumb to public pressure to bring charges before his office was ready to proceed."
A raccoon that was removed from a yard in Camden County, New Jersey tested positive for rabies, according to officials.
The raccoon was killed by a family dog in a yard in Barrington last week. Tests were conducted by a veterinarian and officials determined the raccoon was rabid.
The dog who killed the rabid raccoon is up to date with its rabies vaccinations and received a rabies booster from its veterinarian, according to officials. Despite this, due to state regulations, the dog will be confined and observed for 45 days from the date of the incident.
“Although rabies is a serious illness, it can be prevented by early treatment,” said Freeholder Carmen Rodriguez, liaison to the Camden County Health Department. “If you have been bitten or scratched by a wild animal it is important that you seek immediate medical attention.”
Another raccoon tested positive for rabies in Gloucester Township back in October.
Officials released the following tips for pet owners or those who’ve encountered a wild animal:
You can learn more about rabies by visiting the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website. You can also call the Camden County Department of Health and Human Services at (856) 374-6370.
