Signals Activated Before Train Hit Veterans’ Float

Posted by:

Federal investigators say the warning signals at a railroad crossing in West Texas were activated before a parade float crossed the tracks in an accident that killed military veterans.

At a news conference Saturday, National Transportation Safety Board member Mark Rosekind said the signals had been activated seven seconds before the float crossed the tracks.

Four veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan were killed Thursday when a freight train slammed into the parade float in Midland. Sixteen people were injured.

Rosekind said the NTSB reconstructed the accident using video cameras from the train and a sheriff’s vehicle.

He said the train started sounding its horn nine seconds before it hit the float. The train engineer also used the emergency brake five seconds before the crash.

Article source: http://www.npr.org/2012/11/17/165372711/signals-activated-before-train-hit-veterans-float?ft=1&f=1001

0
  Related Posts