Slay rap KOd in deadly derail
A JUDGE has tossed criminal charges against the Amtrak engineer accused of involuntary manslaughter in a Philadelphia derailment that killed eight people.
Judge Thomas Gehret made the decision Tuesday after a preliminary hearing for Brandon Bostian, 34.
Gehret said the evidence offered by prosecutors convinced him that the wreck was “more likely an accident than criminal negligence.”
“We’re elated with this result because it’s the right result,” Bostian’s lawyer Brian McMonagle told reporters outside the courthouse, according to a reporter for local NPR affiliate WHYY.
“Hopefully now Brandon can get on with the rest of his life.”
Bostian’s Washington-toNew York train reached a speed of 106 mph as it took a curve with a 50 mph limit — sending it tumbling off the tracks. About 200 people were injured in the wreck. The National Transportation Safety Board concluded last year that in the run-up to the crash, Bostian was distracted by word that a nearby train had been hit by a rock. The NTSB said it found no evidence that Bostian was using alcohol, drugs or a cell phone. He was arrested in May, two years to the day after the deadly derailment. The case was brought by the Pennsylvania attorney general after Philadelphia prosecutors declined to press charges, citing insufficient evidence.