NTSB: Amtrak engineer's phone use before deadly crash still a mystery
PHILADELPHIA -- Federal investigators say they still don't know if the engineer involved in a deadly Amtrak crash in Philadelphia was on his cellphone before the speeding train derailed.
The National Transportation Safety Board's preliminary report released Tuesday says it also remains unclear if damage to the windshield was caused by the wreck or an object thrown at the train.
The NTSB has said engineer Brandon Bostian has been cooperative but says he cannot recall the moments before the accident. Eight passengers died and more than 200 were taken to hospitals.
The two-page preliminary report estimates damage from the May 12 crash at more than $9.2 million. It said there were no signs of mechanical failure on the train.
The NTSB says the train entered the 50 mile-per-hour curve at 106 miles per hour. The report says Bostian braked seconds before the wreck.
Bostian could face criminal charges if law enforcement finds he was reckless or negligent when the train approached the curve at 106 mph, former prosecutors said.
Federal investigators said last month that Bostian used his cellphone the day of the crash, but his lawyer has said it was stowed away and turned off during the ill-fated trip to New York. The lawyer said Bostian then retrieved it from the twisted wreckage and used it to call 911.
Bostian had only been working on the Northeast Corridor for fewer than three weeks prior to the crash. An NTSB spokesman told CBS News said "it was two weeks, give or take a few days."
Lawyers suggest the charges under review would include reckless endangerment, involuntary manslaughter, third-degree murder and aggravated assault, especially if he were on his phone or intentionally distracted.