FBI Asked To Probe Claim That Amtrak Train Was Struck Before Crashing

Investigators say they’re looking into claims that a windshield in the Amtrak train in the fatal Philadelphia accident may have been struck by a rock - or something else - just before it crashed Tuesday.

National Transportation Safety Board member Robert Sumwalt, speaking with reporters Friday, said the FBI has been asked to investigate damage to the left hand portion of an Amtrak windshield.

An assistant Amtrak conductor said she recalled hearing a commuter rail engineer tell the dispatch center that his windshield had “either been hit by a rock or shot at,” Sumwalt said Friday. She said she thought she heard Bostian say that his train had also been struck.

The NTSB also is looking at new video footage that shows Amtrak Train 188 accelerating to 100 mph just before the derailment.

At a press conference Thursday, Sumwalt told reporters Thursday that the video shows the train speeding from 70 to 100 mph in less than a minute, but it does not explain why it was moving so fast.

The video was not released to the public.

Preliminary investigations by the NTSB have shown the train was travelling at more than 100 miles per hour when it hit the curve, which has a posted speed limit of 50 mph.

The analysis of the accident continues, but questions have surrounded the actions of the train’s engineer, Brandon Bostian. He initially declined to talk to officials, but his lawyer says Bostian has agreed to be interviewed, according to the NTSB.

As the investigation determines what kind of human errors were involved in the tragic crash, experts agree that existing safety technology could have prevented the tragedy, but was not installed in that section of the rail, according to CNN.

A system known as “Positive Train Control” keeps track of train speed via GPS, wireless radio and other technology. If a train is not operating by federal guidelines, the system can automatically slow or stop it, according to the report.

In a statement posted to Amtrak’s blog, Amtrak President and CEO Joseph Boardman said the train service will finish upgrading the Northeast Corridor with Positive Rail Control by the end of the year.

“Our goal is to fully understand what happened and how we can prevent a similar tragedy from occurring in the future,” said Boardman. “We will also continue to focus on completing Positive Train Control implementation in the Northeast Corridor by December of 2015.”

Boardman also told reporters during a press conference Thursday that Amtrak’s rail service will be partially restored by Monday and fully operational Tuesday, according to CBS News.

The final two of the seven cars that overturned at the Frankford Junction in the Port Richmond section of Philadelphia have been removed and replacement rails are being installed at the accident site. Since the derailment, commuters between Philadelphia and New York had to find alternate means of transportation during the investigation and clean-up.

The identities of the deceased have been revealed and include:

• Laura Finamore, 47, of Douglaston, N.Y., who worked in corporate real estate, according to an online statement from the family.
• Italian national Giuseppe Piras, who was visiting the United States on business.
• Bob Gildersleeve, 45, of Maryland, who was reportedly in the first car of the train traveling from Washington to New York when it crashed, according to NBCPhiladelphia. He was pulled from the wreckage of Amtrak train 188 Thursday, two days after it derailed north of Philadelphia, according to reports.
• Justin Zemser, 20, a student from the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis;
• Derrick Griffith, 42, dean of student affairs and enrollment management at Medgar Evers College in Brooklyn, N.Y.;
• Jim Gaines, 48, an employee of the Associated Press who lived in Plainsboro, N.J.;
• Abid Gilani, a senior vice president at Wells Fargo; and
• Rachel Jacobs, CEO of a Philadelphia tech firm who lived in Manhattan.

Boardman expressed his sympathies to the families in his statement and said the company accepts full responsibility for the crash.

“With truly heavy hearts, we mourn those who died,” writes Boardman. “Their loss leaves holes in the lives of their families and communities. On behalf of the entire Amtrak family, I offer our sincere sympathies and prayers for them and their loved ones. Amtrak takes full responsibility and deeply apologizes for our role in this tragic event.”

Related stories:

• UPDATE: All Eight Fatal Victims From Amtrak Crash Identified
• UPDATE: Train May Have Been Traveling 100 MPH, 7 Reported Killed In Amtrak Derailment In Pennsylvania
• New Jersey Passengers Injured After 7 Killed In Amtrak ‘Mass Casualty’ Derailment
• New Jersey Man Among Dead In Amtrak Train Derailment
• Philly CEO Reported Missing from Amtrak Derailment
• Midshipman Killed In Amtrak Crash
• WATCH: 13-Year-Old Boy Asks for Help Finding Dad Missing In Fatal Amtrak Train Crash
• Howard County Man Killed in Amtrak Derailment
• Amtrak Employee Files First Derailment Lawsuit

Photo courtesy of NTSB