Philadelphia: The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) of United States has said that it had spoken with the engineer of a speeding Amtrak train that derailed in Philadelphia this week.
The engineer is facing intense scrutiny over his role in the accident, into which Philadelphia police said they had launched a criminal investigation into Tuesday’s crash of the New York-bound train. The locomotive and all seven cars jumped the tracks while barreling into a curve at more than 100 miles per hour (160 km per hour), twice the speed limit, killing eight people and injuring some 200 people.
The NTSB said the engineer, identified as 32-year-old Brandon Bostian, triggered the emergency brakes seconds before the accident.
NTSB member Robert Sumwalt said they would be meeting with Bostian sometime in the next few days. He added that they have already started interviewing passengers in the hospital as well as reviewing video that includes up the point of derailment.
Ventuno