T says trolley driver was ‘distracted’ by stalled vehicle

The MBTA driver who rear-ended a Mattapan Line trolley and injured 17 people Friday was “distracted” by a stalled trolley on the opposite track and didn’t see the other car in front of him before it was too late, a top official said yesterday.

The MBTA and Transit police are still investigating the mid-afternoon collision, but Jeff Gonnville, the T’s deputy general manager, said the trolley operator admitted he wasn’t paying attention to the other car ahead of him when he hit it.

The two trolleys were heading inbound about 3 p.m. Friday when the front trolley stopped. A witness in that car told the Herald last week that her driver was speaking to the operator of a stalled trolley on the outbound track when the rear trolley hit them, jolting riders from their seats and ultimately sending 16 people to the hospital.

“He did admit that he was distracted by a disabled train,” Gonneville said of the driver, who was not identified. “He was looking and watching, and claimed he was distracted by that train and he did not see the train that was in front of him.”

Gonneville had said in a statement over the weekend that “operator error” appeared to be the cause of the crash, but at the time did not elaborate. He disclosed the new information in response to a question during an unrelated MBTA conference call last night about the T’s preparations for today’s frigid weather.

T officials have said the driver would “remain out of service” during the investigation.