DALLAS - The tension started to build as passengers waited shoulder to shoulder on a stalled DART train inside a tunnel between City Place and Mockingbird in Dallas.
"It was packed like sardines in there," said passenger Gerald Walker. "It was hot. You couldn't really breathe. People were panicking and they wanted to get off that train."
Around 40 minutes later, some passengers did. Dozens of them got off train after someone pulled the emergency door release. Edward Coronado was of them. He told us the situation was too much, getting worse minute by minute.
"After a while, people started beating on the doors trying to open the doors," Coronado said.
Throughout the 40 minutes, twice the lights flickered off and on, so it's completely dark in there. People started panicking."
Both riders said attempts to reach the conductor failed.
"People were hitting the little button to talk to the conductor," Walker said. No information was coming back whatsoever. Nobody was talking to us."
Walker, who stayed on board, said he also tried to contact DART by using its emergency phone.
"I saw the phone on the emergency wall in the tunnel," he said. "I walked out there, picked up the phone and it was dead."
Video given to News 8 by Coronado showed couples and families walking about a half mile through the tunnel to Mockingbird Station. No one from DART guided them out. When they arrived, at least one passenger needed medical attention.
DART didn't mention the problem at a post parade news conference until News 8 started asking questions. Even then, they painted a much different picture.
"Our folks got control of that situation," said Gay Thomas, DART president and executive director. "...The train, we had mechanics there. The train was repaired in place and then pulled, pulled out of the tunnel."
According to the agency, an air lock brake locked up. Engineers fixed the problem and the train was back on track.
Walker, who again stayed on board, said the entire incident lasted about an hour and 20 minutes.
DART said it will review the incident. Officials will look at the mechanical and operational problems. They will also talk to the train operator to see if he properly informed passengers.
As for Walker, he said more communication would have helped passengers ride out the problem.
"Talk with the passengers," he said. "Let us know what's going on and then that would ease the panicking."
If you were stuck on this train, contact DART. They want to talk to those who were on board.
And while passengers were irked by the struck train, DART says overall, throughout the entire system, the rails were efficient.
