NJ Escalator Reverses, Five Injured - East Idaho News
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NJ Escalator Reverses, Five Injured

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Getty 010713 Escalator2?  SQUARESPACE CACHEVERSION=1357585164074Zoonar/Thinkstock(JERSEY CITY, N.J.) — Five people sustained injuries Monday morning when a malfunctioning New Jersey subway escalator suddenly began running in reverse.

Riders heading above ground on the Exchange Place PATH station in Jersey City were making their way to the top of the stairway when, without warning, it began going down instead of up, according to a spokesman for the Port Authority.

At least one person was taken to the hospital.

Spokesman Ron Marsico told ABC News station WABC-TV that officials don’t know what caused the escalator to malfunction. A witness posted video of the incident on YouTube.

Nick Lukish, of Brooklyn, N.Y., told WABC he was midway up the escalator when the stairs began moving down. He saw a stampede of people at the bottom of the escalator as people jumped out of the way and over to the other escalators, he said.

Lukish, 33, said he sustained cuts and bruises.

Two of the PATH station’s three escalators have been shut down.

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