Articles Posted in MBTA Accidents

Over the past week, we have seen a lot of news coverage on the Amtrak train derailment that resulted in eight dead and many more injured. As this investigation is still very much ongoing, it is expected new details will come out on a daily basis. First, we learned the train was allegedly going 106 mph around a sharp curve where the maximum safe top speed was set at 50 mph. Then we learned the driver supposedly did not attempt to slow the train going into the curve.

Now, according to a breaking news report from CNN, a train conductor told the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) the train might have been hit by something prior to the horrific derailment accident.

The NTSB and FBI are conducting a joint investigation, and during the course of their investigation, there is speculation the locomotive and possibly two other trains were hit by some unknown objects just prior to the crash in Philadelphia. While much of the damage is obviously a result of the derailment and subsequent crash, based upon these tips, investigators have become concerned with damage to the lower portion of the locomotive, which may have been caused by whatever these objects were.
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The latest update from the disastrous Amtrak train crash outside of Philadelphia this week is that at least seven people are dead, more than 200 were injured and several passengers are still unaccounted for as crews continue to search the massive piles of wreckage.

What’s more, an initial investigation indicates the train was traveling at approximately 102- to 106-mph while negotiating a sharp curve on its way to New York. Trains are supposed to enter that curve traveling just 50 mph. Evidence emerging from the active National Transportation Safety Board’s investigation reveals the train engineer/conductor did apply the brakes, but only after the train had already begun rounding the curve.

This information was gleaned from the train’s “black box” data recorder.
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According to a recent news article from ABC News 40 Springfield, at least 55 people were hurt when an Amtrak passenger train was involved in a crash with a tractor-trailer. At least one victim suffered a serious personal injury.

North Carolina state police say a tractor-trailer driver was attempting to make a difficult left turn, when he got his truck stuck on the railroad tracks. Another witness said truck driver was actually attempting to make a right turn when he got stuck on the tracks.

In addition to the discrepancy as to exact course of events leading to this serious accident, there is dispute as to the number of people injured. State agency representatives said 54 people were transported to local hospitals with injuries, which were not life threatening, and one passenger was rushed to a level one trauma center with serious life-threatening injuries. Meanwhile, Federal Railroad Administration officials claim there were 62 total injuries.

The investigation is still ongoing, but it is believed the driver, who wasn’t injured, was able to jump out of his truck before the train made impact with it. After it collided with the truck, the locomotive derailed and fell over it its side, along with the first two cars of the train. The first car to derail was a baggage car, and the second was a passenger car. There were 173 other passengers on the train who were not injured.

Amtrak arranged for coach buses to take them to Richmond, Virginia.
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According to a recent news article from NECN, a twenty-year-veteran MBTA inspector allegedly crashed a company vehicle into a bus operated by the T, and then was allowed to the leave the scene of the accident without submitting to drug or chemical testing as required by United States Department of Transportation (DOT) regulations and Massachusetts law.

Authorities say T bus was waiting at crosswalk for a pedestrian to walk across the street when inspector rear-ended bus with his T owned vehicle. Police were called to the scene, as were T supervisors. At this point, it is required T inspector be taken to a testing laboratory certified by the Office of Drug and Alcohol Testing for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and submit to drug and alcohol testing. This normally involves blowing into a breath-testing instrument, and providing a urine sample for chemical testing at a state-approved testing facility.

For reasons not entirely clear, inspector was allowed to leave the scene of the accident without submitting for testing. Authorities later found inspector at his friend’s house and took him for testing. This was at around 4 p.m. and accident had occurred at around 9:30 in the morning. The concern is any alcohol, which may have been in his system, could have been excreted by the time he was eventually tested. It should be noted no reports have suggested any evidence he was actually under the influence of intoxicating alcohol or drugs at time of the T accident.
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A 24-year-old driver from Roxbury was killed after rear-ending a Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MTBA) bus at a bus stop, reports CBS Boston. The accident happened on Route 28.

On the bus, there were nine people who were sent to the hospital with injuries, most complaining of back pain. According to the spokesperson of the MBTA, the bus was legally stopped at its bus stop when the accident happened.

Our MBTA accident lawyers understand that bus stops and other mass transit hazards are scattered throughout the city, and safety navigation around them can be tricky at times. According to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), there were more than 10,000 injury bus accidents recorded in the U.S. in 2008. Roughly 11,000 vehicles were involved and close to 25,000 passengers injured.
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