NEWTON, Mass. --
A Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority trolley driver was killed Wednesday after two trains collided at the height of rush hour in Newton, according to the woman's father.
Raw Video: Trolleys Collide | Passenger Describes Collision
The crash -- involving two outbound three-car trolleys -- happened on the MBTA's Green Line D branch near the Woodland stop at about 6 p.m. Wednesday. Both trolleys were derailed in the collision, and some cars' wheels were ripped off in the crash.
Crews worked for hours to free the driver's body from the twisted wreckage. Her father told reporters gathered at Newton-Wellesley Hospital that his daughter was the driver and she had died in the crash. The woman's name and age have not been released.
"I have no information on the speed of the second train. We do know that the first train had made a stop at the red signal, as all trains do prior to advancing toward Woodland station. That first train had started moving toward Woodland when it was struck from behind," MBTA spokesman Joe Pesaturo said.
Pesaturo said several passengers were also injured in the crash, and one passenger was flown by helicopter to a Boston hospital.
Newton-Wellesley Hospital, located just a half mile from the crash, said they were treating 10 patients for serious, but non life-threatening, injuries. Five passengers were treated at the scene and the trolleys' three other operators were not injured, Pesaturo said.
Passengers described a confused scene in the immediate aftermath of the crash, with some passengers screaming and small fires breaking out on the side of the train.
Barry Gallup, a passenger on one of the trains, said his trolley was rear-ended by another trolley between the Woodland and Waban stops. He said he was thrown forward in the collision, and both knees on his pants were ripped.
"All of a sudden I stood up and, supposedly, a train came behind us and rear-ended us. And then all of a sudden, I flew to the front and hit the part where the driver sits. And I looked up, and all of a sudden, people were trapped underneath the train," he said. "I think I might have been knocked out for a few seconds because I stood up and the next thing I know I was laying on the ground."
Passengers said they did not have any warning before the collision.
"All of a sudden we rear-ended something," passenger Jill Davidson said. "There was a guy sitting next to me and he went flying and he hit the front of the train. We looked out the window, and the car in front of us was knocked off the tracks, and there was fire being shot into the woods. And we had to run off the train pretty much."
Pesaturo said the trains would normally have been very crowded at the time of the crash with passengers heading home from the city.
From Sky5, shaken commuters were seen being helped from the cars by emergency crews, and some people were being put on backboards. Several ambulances and medical helicopters were called to the scene, and a triage center was set up at the Brae Burn Country Club golf course next to the tracks.
People who live in Newton's Dorset Road neighborhood next to the track said the crash sounded like an explosion.
"I heard a crash -- it sounded like steel against steel. Then I thought I heard an explosion, and then a smaller explosion," said Jack Condon.
Many residents rushed to help passengers and first responders.
"It looked like the two of them hit, and on the driver's side front corner, the firemen are trying to peel it back. You can see passenger seats pushed back at the front of the train, but no people," Jerry Bodner said.
"I am very grateful that my family wasn't involved, but my heart is breaking for the families," said Maria Arcese.
The MBTA said on its Web site that shuttle bus service is running between the Reservoir and Riverside stops.
Peter Knudson, a spokesman for the National Transportation Safety Board, said a team of investigators will arrive in Boston on Thursday to begin their investigation into the crash.
"There are so many ways these accidents can happen. Fortunately, they are relatively rare, but when they do happen, it's rarely just a single thing that goes wrong. Often times there are several things that are lining up at the same time to cause such an accident," Knudson said.
The team will be looking at all possible factors in the crash, including human and mechanical errors and track conditions.
Knudson said it will be 12 to 18 months until a final report on the NTSB's findings is released.
The Green Line is the most heavily-traveled light rail line in the country, the MBTA said.
