The train was mistakenly switched to a curve while it was traveling at too high a speed, and detached from the tracks before the train operator could come to a stop. One train car fell off the tracks at 53rd Street and one remained hanging off the elevated trestle. There was controversy during the investigation as to whether the train's engineer or the man who threw the switch should be held responsible. Either the discs indicating the route of the train were wrong (and no had noticed at any other station) or the switch was thrown mistakenly or even intentionally to sabotage the train. Both men would end up being charged, and the engineer fled to California claiming that the switch operator had intentionally tried to send his train onto the wrong tracks and indicating that he had done it before.