NTSB: Amtrak Train Speeding Before Deadly Derailment South Of Seattle
DUPONT, Wash. (CBSNewYork/AP) — Federal officials said an Amtrak train was speeding 50 miles per hour over the speed limit when it derailed off an overpass south of Seattle, spilling cars onto the highway below and killing at least three people.
Crews lifted the train cars on Tuesday as they tried to stabilize the scene of Monday's deadly derailment.
Speaking at a news conference Monday night, National Transportation Safety Board member Bella Dinh-Zarr said that information from the event data recorder in the rear locomotive showed the train was traveling at 80 mph in a 30 mph zone when it came off the tracks.
"The question is why was the train traveling 80 miles an hour in a 30 mile an hour zone and the answer is, it is too early to tell," Dinh-Zarr said.
Investigators were looking into whether the engineer was distracted
Authorities said there were 80 passengers and five on-duty crew members on board when it derailed and pulled 13 cars off the tracks, some cars tumbling onto the roadway of Interstate 5 below.
"The train just started to, seemed like, go off on its side and then all of the sudden it went dark and stuff started flying around," said passenger Anthony Raimondi.
"Everything started turning and I held onto my laptop for dear life," said passenger Adrian Thompson. "People were screaming. It was crazy."
Authorities said there were three confirmed deaths. More than 70 people were taken for medical care — including 10 with serious injuries. Investigators on Tuesday were looking into whether the engineer was distracted by an employee-in-training in the locomotive cab.
Dispatch audio also indicated that the engineer survived with bleeding from the head and both eyes swollen shut.
"I'm still figuring that out. We've got cars everywhere and down onto the highway," he tells the dispatcher, who asks if everyone is OK.
This was the first trip of a new train line between Seattle and Portland. At least one local official, Lakewood Mayor Don Anderson, voiced safety concerns about the new line at a City Council meeting earlier this month.
"Come back when there is that accident and try to justify not putting in those safety enhancements," Anderson said on Dec. 4.
The NTSB says they've recommended safety features such as positive train control — the technology that can slow or stop a speeding train — for decades, but it wasn't in use on this stretch of track, according to Amtrak President Richard Anderson.
One former NTSB chair says there's one simple reason the technology isn't in use everywhere.
"It's because of the dollars that need to be spent that's delayed its implementation," Former-Chairwoman Deb Hersman said.
The 15-mile stretch of track south of Seattle was a $180 million project aimed at speeding up service by bypassing a more curvy route with single-track tunnels and freight traffic.
The NTSB expects to start interviewing the train crew as early as Tuesday.
(© Copyright 2017 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
