281 replies to this topic

[CNJRoss]

AP via WPVI-TV Philadelphia, PA 1/26/17:
 

Amtrak engineer: Projectiles hit train before deadly crash

 

 

PHILADELPHIA -- The Amtrak engineer involved in a deadly 2015 crash in Philadelphia has sued the railroad, saying it failed to address reports that people were throwing projectiles at trains.

 

Brandon Bostian, 33, said he was left disoriented or unconscious when something struck his train before the May 2015 crash, which left eight people dead and more than 200 injured.

Federal investigators came to a different conclusion: that Bostian's train wasn't hit.

 

Continue here w/video report.

[KevinKorell]

Forbes, 4/18/17:

 

 

Amtrak Defends Self From Lawsuit Brought By Engineer In 2015 Fatal Derailment

 

 

Sued by an engineer whose part in a fatal derailment remains a question, Amtrak is attempting to turn the blame on the man.

 

On April 12, Amtrak filed an answer to a lawsuit filed by Brandon Bostian, the engineer of one of its trains that derailed in Philadelphia in May 2015, killing eight people. The company also filed a counter-claim against Bostian.

 

Update

[KevinKorell]

This coming week marks 2 years since the incident.  From Philadelphia, PA Inquirer, 5/5/17:
 

As train derailment anniversary nears, time to charge the Amtrak engineer may be running out

 

Two years ago this Friday, Amtrak engineer Brandon Bostian drove a seven-car train off the tracks at Frankford Curve, killing eight and injuring more than 150 people.

 

Bostian accelerated Amtrak train 188 to 106 mph, more than twice the speed posted for that stretch of track, as it approached the turn just north of 30th Street Station on May 12, 2015, according to National Transportation Safety Board findings.

 

Update

[CNJRoss]

AP, 5/9/17:
 

Amtrak engineer won't be charged in deadly crash

 

 

PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- The speeding Amtrak engineer involved in a derailment that killed eight people and injured about 200 others in Philadelphia won't face criminal charges, the city district attorney's office said Tuesday.

 

Prosecutors said they can't prove engineer Brandon Bostian acted with "conscious disregard" when he accelerated the train to 106 mph on a 50 mph curve.

 

SNIP

 

"We cannot conclude that the evidence rises to the high level necessary to charge the engineer or anyone else with a criminal offense," the office said in an unsigned statement.

 

More here.

[KevinKorell]

Pardon the pun, but not so fast!  From billypenn.com, 5/11/17:

 

 

Philly judge orders criminal charges in Amtrak 188 crash

 

A Philadelphia judge has ordered that the engineer on Amtrak 188 be criminally charged in the 2015 crash that killed eight people and injured about 200. The matter has been referred to the Office of Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro, which announced it was “carefully” reviewing the request.

 

Update

[KevinKorell]

Philadelphia, PA Inquirer, 5/11/17:

 

 

Judge orders Philly DA's Office to charge Amtrak engineer Bostian

 

President Judge Marsha Neifield of Philadelphia Municipal Court ordered the city District Attorney’s Office on Thursday to reverse course and charge Amtrak engineer Brandon Bostian with involuntary manslaughter and reckless endangerment. 

 

This story

[CNJRoss]

The Inquirer, Philadelphia, PA 5/10/17:

 

Our View

Can’t just blame engineer for Amtrak 188’s derailment

 

by Inquirer Editorial Board

 

It’s time to put the derailment of Amtrak Train 188 to rest, to take the lessons learned from the tragedy and use them to prevent more harm.

 

Two years ago, engineer Brandon Bostian pushed the train’s speed to dangerous levels causing it to fly off the tracks, killing eight and injuring more than 150. With the statute of limitations expiring Friday, the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office announced Tuesday that it would not be filing charges.

 

That was the right course. Bostian wasn’t high or drunk. He wasn’t on his cell phone. There has been no finding that he deliberately doubled the speed at the Franklin Curve just north of 30th Street Station. The National Transportation Safety Board says the engineer was distracted by radio talk concerning someone who threw a rock at a SEPTA train on the same tracks.

 

SNIP

 

Amtrak rightly took responsibility for the Philadelphia derailment and has agreed to a $265 million settlement that must be divided. Meanwhile, Congress has required that PTC be in place on all heavily traveled tracks by 2018. There should be no more extensions of that deadline, no more needless tragedies, no more blame directed at one person when the negligence of others – from the railroad to Congress – was also responsible.

 

Complete editorial.

[CNJRoss]

AP 5/12/17:
 

Speeding Amtrak engineer charged in 2015 crash that killed 8

 

 

PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- The state's top prosecutor on Friday charged a speeding Amtrak engineer with causing a catastrophe, involuntary manslaughter and other crimes in a deadly 2015 derailment that came after he accelerated to 106 mph on a 50 mph curve.

 

Prosecutors said they were in talks with engineer Brandon Bostian's attorney to have him surrender on the charges.

 

Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro expanded on charges a Philadelphia judge approved a day earlier. The unusual judge's order came after the family of a woman killed in the crash sought a private criminal complaint when city prosecutors declined to press charges as Friday's two-year deadline approached.

 

Continue here w/video report from WTXF Philadelphia.

[KevinKorell]

NBC Philadelphia, 5/18/17:

 

 

Amtrak 188 Engineer Brandon Bostian Surrenders to Face Charges in Deadly Derailment

 

The engineer operating Amtrak 188 when it careened off the tracks in Northeast Philadelphia two years ago surrendered Thursday to face charges.

 

Here is the latest.

[CNJRoss]

Reuters, 6/7/17:
 

Court delay for Amtrak engineer in deadly 2015 Philadelphia crash

 

 

A preliminary hearing for the former Amtrak engineer charged with involuntary manslaughter in a 2015 crash that killed eight passengers and injured 200 others in Philadelphia was postponed on Wednesday due to a lawyers' scheduling conflict.

 

A judge ruled that the hearing for Brandon Bostian will be rescheduled for September 12th at the request of defense attorney Fortunato Perri.

 

Continue here.