|
 The lawsuit, filed in Philadelphia, cited "serious and disabling"
injuries from the May 12 derailment that killed eight people and
injured more than 200 others.
Nearly a week after the derailment, it remains a mystery what caused
the train to accelerate from 70 miles per hour (113 km per hour) to
106 mph (171 kph) in the minute before the crash. Authorities have
not yet ruled out equipment malfunction, human error or other
possible reasons for the train gaining speed so rapidly.
A Federal Bureau of Investigation examination of a circular pattern
of damage to the windshield of the derailed Amtrak train found no
evidence it was caused by a firearm, the National Transportation
Safety Board (NTSB) said on Monday. The NTSB, however, said it has
not ruled out the possibility that another object may have struck
the windshield.
 Train engineer Brian Bostian, 32, who suffered a concussion, told
investigators he has no memory of what occurred after the train
pulled out of the North Philadelphia station, just before the crash.
The lawsuit appeared to be the first filed by a non-employee of the
U.S. passenger rail service. Last week, an Amtrak worker who was
riding the train as a passenger, filed the first lawsuit, citing a
brain injury he said he suffered in the crash.
The latest passengers' lawsuit, seeking unspecified damages, accused
Amtrak and Bostian of negligence and recklessness.
Filing the suit were two Spanish citizens, Felicidad Redondo Iban
and Maria Jesus Redondo Iban, as well as Daniel Armyn of New York
and Amy Miller of New Jersey.
Felicidad Redondo Iban has required several surgeries to avoid
amputation of her right arm, according to the complaint.
An Amtrak representative could not be reached immediately for
comment.
[to top of second column] |
The train, headed from Washington to New York with 243 people on
board, was traveling at twice the 50 mile-per-hour speed limit when
it entered a sharp curve and derailed just north of Philadelphia.
Amtrak commuter service, suspended since the derailment, resumed
early on Monday on the Northeast Corridor, the nation's busiest
passenger rail line.
More than 750,000 passenger trips are taken daily on the stretch
from Washington through Baltimore, Philadelphia and New York to
Boston.
Passengers leaving Washington generally said they felt safe as
service was restored.
"They're doing everything they can to probably fix it," said Ann
Marie DeLury, a graduate student from New York. "If I'm afraid every
time I travel, I'll get stuck in a place and never move."
(Additional reporting by Eric Beech and Tom Ramstack in Washington)
[© 2015 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
Copyright 2015 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
 |
