Investigators are trying to determine what caused all seven train cars to derail and send all of its passengers flying through the air. One major possibility that everyone is coming to a crossroads with is high speed. Furthermore, according to preliminary data it is estimated that the train was traveling over 100 mph before it derailed; it was going more than twice the speed limit for the curve it was rounding at the time.
Although Philadelphia Mayor, Michael Nutter is blaming the engineer for the accident, but the NTSB is not making judgments before the facts. The engineer of the train is 32-year-old, Brandon Bostian from New York, and he did, in fact, use the emergency brakes just before the train derailed. There is a recorder in the train which will also shed more light on how the accident happened.
Tuesday night in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania a disastrous train wreck injured over a hundred people, and killed six. The Northeast Regional Train 188 was headed from Washington to New York when it derailed from the tracks near Port Richmond. All of the cars derailed, and many were torn apart, and seven of them flew from the tracks landing in a metal pile. 146 people were taken to nearby hospitals, six are listed in critical condition, and six passengers died.
Thus far, the exact cause of the derailment is unknown, and there is nothing to indicate it as an act of terrorism. Early Wednesday, investigators walked up and down the tracks looking for clues. Near the site where it crashed is by a well-known curve called, the Frankford Junction. The curve is known for being the site of one of the most deadly train accidents, which happened in 1943, killing 79 people in the aftermath.
In 1993, the deadliest Amtrak train crash happened in Mobile, Alabama killing 47 people. The accident happened when a tugboat hit the river bridge, causing it to collapse when the train passed over.
If you or a loved one were injured in a train accident, the skilled St. Louis personal injury attorneys at Meyerkord & Kurth would like to hear from you. Please contact us today for a free consultation.