SEPTA Engineer Saw 'Trespasser' On Tracks Moments Before Train Was Hit By Object
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- A transit train driver says he saw a "trespasser" on the tracks moments before an unknown object struck a window on the train.
The SEPTA train was struck on the same night and in close proximity to the Amtrak train that derailed on May 12th in Philadelphia.
According to SEPTA officials, the engineer saw a trespasser on the track moments before an unidentified object smashed a window.
"The engineer saw a trespasser in the area of the track, and shortly after that a bang on the window and the window spider-webbed," SEPTA Transit Police Chief Thomas Nestel III explained.
The SEPTA train was approximately three miles away from the Amtrak train.
Chief Nestel says trespassers have been launching rocks and other objects at SEPTA train since the 1890s.
National Transportation Safety Board officials said that Amtrak 188, which derailed in Port Richmond, killing eight and injuring over 200, was also struck by an unknown object.
The two incidents so far have not been connected.