The National Transportation Safety Board reported today Amtrak train 188 sped up from 70 mph to 102 mph just one minute before deadly crash.
The speed limit in the area was 50 miles per hour.
Eight people were killed in the crash and over 150 injured.
Brandon Bostian, inset, who was operating the Amtrak train that derailed in Philadelphia on Tuesday night, has been an Amtrak engineer for four-and-a-half years, according to his LinkedIn profile. (Philly Voice)
Philly.com reported:
Right before its fatal derailment on Tuesday night, Amtrak Train 188 accelerated significantly as it approached the Frankford Junction curve, the National Transportation Safety Board said Thursday.
In barely a minute, its speed jumped from 70 m.p.h. to 102 m.p.h. three seconds before the crash, said NTSB member Robert Sumwalt at a news briefing. The speed limit in that area is 50 m.p.h.
Sumwalt said it was unclear whether the engineer, identified as Brandon Bostian, 32, of Forest Hills, N.Y., had accelerated manually, but it was known that he did attempt to deploy the emergency brake. Bostian’s attorney has told ABC-TV that his client had no memory of the crash.
