The frightened New York City subway passengers on the Brooklyn-bound local said later they knew there was something wrong when their train overshot several station platforms. As it hurtled toward the busy Union Square Station at 12:15 a.m., the train derailed on a curve and slammed into a steel pillar, leaving several cars a mass of twisted metal in a hot, smoke-filled tunnel. "When the lights went off, smoke started coming into the car," said passenger Gilbert Asante. "I thought I was dead."
Asante was one of the lucky ones. Five riders were killed and nearly 200 injured. Motorman Robert Ray,...