Amtrak engineer Brandon Bostian cleared of charges related to 2015 high-speed crash that left 8 people dead, hundreds injured
An Amtrak engineer was cleared of charges related to a deadly, high-speed derailment that left eight people dead and hundreds injured in Philadelphia in 2015. The jury acquitted 38-year-old engineer Brandon Bostian of causing a catastrophe, involuntary manslaughter and reckless endangerment after a little more than an hour of deliberations.
On May 12, 2015, the train, which was traveling from Washington to New York City, rounded a curve at more than twice the speed limit and derailed in north Philadelphia. The train had stopped at Philadelphia's 30th Street station about 10 minutes earlier and was heading north at the time of the deadly derailment.
During the trial, Bostian's lawyer described him as a lifelong train buff who had a perfect work record until he was distracted by people throwing rocks in the area just before the crash. Prosecutors say he acted with reckless disregard for the safety of his passengers.
Federal safety investigators concluded that Bostian lost what they call "situational awareness" on the track, thinking he was past an S-curve and on a straightaway when he accelerated from about 65 mph to 106 mph. In fact, he was in the middle of the S-curve, and going more than twice the speed limit. Investigators found no evidence he was impaired or using his cellphone at the time.
Amtrak settled the civil litigation with victims and their families in 2016 for $265 million, a new, higher limit set by Congress after the crash. The criminal case had a more unusual history.
Philadelphia's top prosecutor declined to pursue criminal charges after the National Transportation and Safety Board released its findings. The state Attorney General's Office later took the case to trial, after some victims' families pressed for charges.
On Thursday, Bostian chose not to testify in his defense at the trial. He declined to say why he did not testify outside the courtroom, CBS Philadelphia reported.
Earlier in the week, the jury heard from the last three witnesses that the prosecution called to testify: an Amtrak supervisor, a former Amtrak police officer and the brother of Robert Gildersleeve, one of the eight victims killed in the Amtrak train derailment. It also listened to audiotapes of the frantic 911 calls made after the derailment, CBS Philadelphia reported.
The jury had begun weighing the charges Friday morning when the judge announced around noon that an alternate would step in. The jury then began its deliberations from the start.
Common Pleas Judge Barbara McDermott said a juror whose sister died Thursday night came to court Friday and began deliberations before asking to be relieved.
The jury had to decide whether Bostian sped up intentionally, knowing the risks — the threshold required for criminal negligence.
Since the derailment, Amtrak has installed a positive-train control technology that can automatically slow or stop a speeding train on its track from Boston to Washington.
After the verdict was reached Friday, Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro issued a statement saying, "There is no question that the excessive speed of the train that the defendant operated resulted in death and injury to his passengers."
"Our goal throughout this long legal process was to seek justice for each and every victim, and help bring victims' families and their loved ones closure," he said. "Ultimately, the jury did not find his actions to be criminal, and we respect the jury's verdict."
In a statement, Amtrak said it respected the jury's finding and expressed "our sympathy to our passengers, employees, and their families for this terrible tragedy."