Trial begins for Green Line train operator charged with negligence in 2021 crash
BOSTON - In July 2021 an MBTA trolley crash near Boston University injured more than 20 people. Owen Turner was operating a Green Line train when the trolley smashed into the back of another trolley. He faces gross negligence charges and appeared in court Tuesday as attorneys began presenting evidence.
"It was horrendous. Like nothing that had ever happened to me on the job," said Takisha King, the operator of the trolley that Turner's trolley struck. "Loud bang, passengers screaming, passengers displaced, very gory, bloody."
A preliminary report from the National Transportation Safety Board says Turner put the train into full power just before the crash. The prosecution argues Turner was traveling well above the speed limit and failed to keep a mandated distance between trolleys. King testified in court that the drivers are trained to always be at minimum 500 feet from another moving trolley.
"While operating a green trolley on the B line, Mr. Turner neglected his duties as a motor person," said Daniel Addady, Suffolk County Assistant District Attorney.
Detectives testified that Turner has no recollection of the crash, nor was he asleep.
"You can hear evidence that he was unconscious at the time, so he didn't intentionally speed. He didn't intentionally neglect distance," argued Turner's defense attorney Matthew Peterson.
How Turner lost consciousness remains a mystery. Peterson claims the driver tested negative for drugs or alcohol. Other operators testified that Turner appeared normal that day. Peterson also added that Turner was not distracted by his phone, adding that it was left in his car.