Minnesota residents who use Amtrak may be interested to learn that the engineer who was responsible for causing a train to crash in April 2016 had marijuana and opioids in his system when the accident occurred. The crash, which was heading from New York to Georgia, resulted in the death of two Amtrak workers and caused 35 others to suffer injuries.
The train was traveling at approximately 106 mph when it struck a backhoe and other maintenance machines that were sitting on the track. An Amtrak employee had been using the backhoe with a supervisor nearby. Both of these employees were killed in the collision. It appeared that the accident was caused by miscommunication as the train was running on a track that had been given an “intermittent foul time” designation, meaning work was being completed on it.
The engineer running the train stated that he hit the breaks and sounded the horn when he saw the backhoe but was unable to stop in time. The impact caused the train to become partially derailed and it continued to roll for another mile. All of the passengers who suffered injuries ultimately recovered.
Train accidents can result in serious injuries or even death. If it was determined that the engineer running the train was under the influence, an injured victim may potentially file a personal injury lawsuit against the worker and the company that owns the train. The attorney may help a client provide evidence that shows that the train engineer was responsible for causing the crash.