Amtrak engineer tried to stop train

The engineer on board an Amtrak train that derailed late Tuesday deployed its emergency braking system.
 
National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigators announced on Wednesday that crisis measures failed to stop Northeast Regional Train 188’s deadly crash in Philadelphia the night before.
 
“Our mission is to find out not only what happened but why it happened so we can prevent it from happening again,” said NTSB board member Robert Sumwalt during a press conference Wednesday evening.
 
{mosads}“I feel like the preliminary information we have is robust but we still have a lot of work to do,” he said of the agency’s initial findings.
 
Sumwalt estimated that Train 188 was traveling at a top speed of 106 miles per hour before overturning.
 
That apex, he said, was more than double the Federal Railroad Administration’s 50 mph speed limit for the corridor between New York and Washington, D.C.
 
“We’re pretty confident that the train was traveling at those speeds within one or two miles per hour,” Sumwalt said.
 
The federal investigator added that attempts at halting the train came too little, too late given its blistering pace.
 
“It takes a long time and distance to decelerate a train,” Sumwalt admitted.
 
His remarks followed reports on Wednesday that the train’s engineer refused to give any statement to the Philadelphia Police Department regarding the accident.
 
Sumwalt said his agency planned on questioning Brandon Bostian, 32, as soon as it could within reason.
 
“This person has gone through a very traumatic experience,” Sumwalt said of Bostian.
 
“He is a very high priority for us,” he added.
 
Bostian received 14 staples for a head wound following Tuesday’s derailing.
 
He then reportedly stayed silent until reunited with his lawyer Wednesday afternoon. 
 
The pair has since departed for Bostian’s home in Forrest Hills, N.Y.
 
Train 188’s conductor remains in critical condition at Temple University Hospital following Tuesday’s accident.
 
The crash killed seven passengers and wounded at least 140 more.