Speeding Amtrak engineer charged in 2015 crash
PHILADELPHIA — The state’s top prosecutor on Friday charged a speeding Amtrak engineer with causing a catastrophe, involuntary manslaughter and other crimes in a deadly 2015 derailment that came after he accelerated to 106 mph on a 50 mph curve.
Prosecutors said they were in talks with engineer Brandon Bostian’s attorney to have him surrender on the charges over the deaths of eight people and injuries of more than 200.
Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro expanded on charges a Philadelphia judge approved a day earlier. The unusual judge’s order came after the family of a woman killed in the crash sought a private criminal complaint when city prosecutors declined to press charges as Friday’s two-year deadline approached.
The judge had signed off on two misdemeanor charges over Rachel Jacobs’ death in the May 12, 2015, derailment. Mr. Shapiro approved a felony charge of risking or causing a catastrophe and a string of misdemeanors, including eight counts of involuntary manslaughter and reckless endangerment.
Lawyer Thomas Kline, who had sought the private complaint on the Jacobs family’s behalf, said the charges wouldn’t have happened “had a courageous family, the Jacobs family, not stood up against the decision of a local prosecutor not to press charges.”
The criminal case is expected to bring new scrutiny to the National Transportation Safety Board finding that Mr. Bostian had lost “situational awareness” on the curve in North Philadelphia. The speed limit climbs from 50 mph to 110 mph about a mile-and-a-half after the curve.
The NTSB said it found no evidence that Mr. Bostian was impaired or using a cell phone during the Washington-to-New York run.
Philadelphia prosecutors concluded last week that there was insufficient evidence to prove that Mr. Bostian acted with intent or “conscious disregard” for the passengers’ safety.