Watch CBS News

Metro-North Train Crash Survivors May Deal With Anxiety

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) – As some survivors of the Metro-North train accident are released from hospitals, some are saying those who weren't badly injured may be mentally traumatized by the derailment.

Rita Anya Nara, author of The Anxious Traveler, told 1010 WINS' Mona Rivera Monday that it is a common reaction for crash survivors to have trouble getting back on a train.

Metro-North Train Crash Survivors May Deal With Anxiety

"They think that's it, I'm going to get in my own car or I'm going to buy a car if I don't have one.  But, I, you know, I'm not getting on a train again," Nara said.

Four people were killed and more than 60 were injured in the early morning crash when a train from Poughkeepsie to Grand Central traveling on the Hudson line derailed near the Spuyten Duyvil station.

All seven cars and the locomotive lurched off the rails and the lead car landed only inches from the water.

Statistically, trains are safer than cars, Nara said. The author urged survivors to continue to commute by rail.

"They can say OK, I've been on a train, you know, 20 times since this tragedy and nothing happened and that's when they get their peace of mind back.  That's really sometimes what it boils down to," Nara said.

Nara advocates for the addition of seat belts on trains.

You May Also Be Interested In These Stories:

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.