Speeding Amtrak engineer charged in 2015 crash that killed 8

[Eugene]

Source: Associated Press

By MARYCLAIRE DALE
40 minutes ago

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 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 after the family of a woman killed in the crash sought a private criminal complaint. The judge ordered city prosecutors to charge Bostian with two misdemeanors over Rachel Jacobs’ death in the May 12, 2015, derailment. Shapiro added the felony charge of risking or causing a catastrophe along with seven additional counts of involuntary manslaughter.

“This would not have happened had a courageous family, the Jacobs family, not stood up against the decision of a local prosecutor not to press charges,” said lawyer Thomas R. Kline, who had sought the private complaint on the family’s behalf. “That was clearly wrong, as evidenced by the attorney general not only reversing course but adding charges.”

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Read more: https://apnews.com/cbb9f48a18f0491a86833f1f8e2aa11d/Speeding-Amtrak-engineer-charged-in-2015-crash-that-killed-8

[CaliforniaPeggy]

1. This is a tragedy, but the charges are completely justified.

Nothing will bring those victims back, but the engineer will not go unpunished.

[Joe Chi Minh]

2. Good. I thought a certain powerful lobby had

managed to close it down.

[DeminPennswoods]

3. Can't say I agree

Sometimes it's just an accident. Investigators found the engineer may have been distracted by an rock throwing incident that had caused an accident with a SEPTA train, iirc, in the same area. The engineer lost track of where the train was. Had the positive train control system been installed/activated as it is on other parts of the NE corridor, the accident would never have happened.

This engineer will have to live with these deaths for the rest of his life. No punishment will be greater than that.

[Joe Chi Minh]

4. Accelerating to 106 mph on a 50 mph curve

sounds a tad extreme - on any curve. Anyway, the rail company should know how plausibly massive a distraction during such a manoeuvre would have to be, in order to override a normal degree of caution.

[DeminPennswoods]

5. I think it was on NOVA

"Why trains crash". It goes into detail on this accident and a couple other big, deadly rail accidents. The engineer was distracted and lost track of where he was on that stretch of track.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

6. You are right. It was on about six weeks ago.

Why Trains Crash

Can new crash prevention technology help us avoid deadly train accidents?

Okay, it was three months ago. But who's counting?