Amtrak Engineer Knew Train Was Going Too Fast

National Transportation Safety Board releases early findings on fatal derailment
By Michael Harthorne,  Newser Staff
Posted Dec 23, 2017 11:30 AM CST
Amtrak Engineer Knew Train Was Going Too Fast
In this Dec. 18, 2017 photo, cars from an Amtrak train lie spilled onto Interstate 5 below alongside smashed vehicles as some train cars remain on the tracks above in DuPont, Wash.   (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson, File)

The engineer apparently knew the Amtrak train that derailed Monday in Washington state, killing three people and injuring more than 70, was going too fast. He just didn't know it in time. In a preliminary report, the National Transportation Safety Board states the engineer, who was in the cab with the conductor, commented on "an over speed condition" just six seconds before the crash, NBC News reports. It remains unclear why the train, the first run on a new route, was going nearly 80mph as it entered a 30mph zone. The NTSB review also found neither the conductor nor other crew were using cellphones or other personal electronic devices, as had been the case in previous crashes, according to the Los Angeles Times. (More train crash stories.)

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