'Stupidity' caused subway drilling accident on East Side Access project, says official

NEW YORK (WABC) -- A transit official said "stupidity" led to a giant 10-inch drill bit piercing the ceiling of a New York City subway tunnel in October.

Metropolitan Transportation Authority Capital Construction president Michael Horodniceanu made the comment Monday to MTA board members, according to

Newsday. It is "hard sometimes to battle stupidity. In this case, I don't know what else to call it," he said.

Horodniceanu said the Tutor Perini Corp. workers hadn't properly flagged the drill locations.

He said Tutor Perini immediately reorganized the project's management.

The 10-inch drill was being used on the East Side Access project. The project will connect the Long Island Rail Road with Grand Central Terminal.

The company didn't respond to a comment request.

There were no injuries.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.