Hannah Jane Santero, 33, is charged with making a terroristic threat and making a threat of mass harm following the incident on Wednesday, Sept. 16
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NEED TO KNOW
- A woman sparked panic when she allegedly made a threatening statement on a train approaching Grand Central Terminal in New York City on Wednesday, Sept. 16
- Passengers “self-evacuated the train” through emergency windows after the train was stopped by an emergency cord pull, the MTA said in a release shared with PEOPLE
- The woman, identified as 33-year-old Hannah Santero, was detained and is facing a felony and misdemeanor charge
A train ride to New York City ended in panic after a woman allegedly threatened fellow passengers on Wednesday, Sept. 16.
Just before 8:30 a.m. local time, a train from New Canaan, Conn., came to an abrupt halt ahead of its scheduled stop at Grand Central Terminal, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) said in a release shared with PEOPLE.
As the train approached Track 110, a woman on board “began experiencing an emotional crisis,” with one witness telling authorities that she said, “This will be your last day on earth,” according to the MTA.
Another passenger saw the woman and pulled the emergency cord on the train, bringing the vehicle to a complete stop about 100 yards away from the platform. Sixty people on board “self-evacuated the train” when it stopped, the MTA said.
Many of those 60 passengers escaped the train through emergency windows and walked to the platform to safety, ABC7NY reported, citing officials. Passengers were not told to get off the train, and MTA workers did not open the doors during the incident, according to the outlet.
Nigel Sirois was on board for his daily commute from New Canaan and described the scene, telling Gothamist that he yelled for passengers to “run” to the front of the train.
“My biggest concern at that point was, well, there’s a stampede of people,” the 22-year-old pharmacy student told the outlet. “Anyone who’s perhaps elderly or otherwise caught off guard could get trampled by them.”
After learning that passengers had self-evacuated, Metro-North Railroad disconnected the third rail and suspended train service to the Lower Level of Grand Central, the MTA said in its release. MTAPD also responded and escorted those who were still on the tracks to the platform.
Once all passengers on the tracks safely reached the platform, Metro-North restored service, and the train arrived at the platform with the remaining 650 passengers inside.
Hannah Jane Santero, 33, of Elmhurst, N.Y., was detained by the MTAPD and taken to Bellevue Hospital for evaluation. She is facing a felony of making a terroristic threat and a misdemeanor of making a threat of mass harm, the MTA said.
No injuries were reported; however, four passengers underwent stress evaluations, the MTA said, according to CBS New York.
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No weapon was recovered at the scene, ABC7NY reported, citing officials.
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