1. Welcome to SportsJournalists.com, a friendly forum for discussing all things sports and journalism.

    Your voice is missing! You will need to register for a free account to get access to the following site features:
    • Reply to discussions and create your own threads.
    • Access to private conversations with other members.
    • Fewer ads.

    We hope to see you as a part of our community soon!

Amtrak

Discussion in 'Sports and News' started by BitterYoungMatador2, May 14, 2015.

  1. TheSportsPredictor

    TheSportsPredictor Well-Known Member

  2. YankeeFan

    YankeeFan Well-Known Member

    [​IMG]

    nyti.ms/1IEjPU2
     
  3. murphyc

    murphyc Well-Known Member

    True, we don't know. But from the initial stories I read before I posted, the engineer seemed to be getting the most attention, not mechanical problems. If the engineer did something to cause the crash (whether it be intentional or because of drugs/falling asleep/distracted or whatever) my instinct is he'll lawyer up and not reveal anything incriminating, at least not for now.
     
  4. Drip

    Drip Active Member

    I know this stretch pretty well. In 1943, there was a crash in the same general area. 79 people died. Dude said he doesn't remember. That saves him some time until the tests results return and the investigation reaches a conclusion.
    Amtrak likely faces hundreds of millions of dollars in claims from victims of the derailment. Because Congress capped such payouts for Amtrak in 1997, money to compensate victims probably will fall short of what is needed.Under the Amtrak Reform and Accountability Act, damages paid by the government to people injured in Amtrak derailments and to families of those passengers killed was limited to $200 million per crash. But with eight killed and about 200 of the 238 passengers injured, some very seriously, claims from this week's crash will probably exceed that amount.
     
  5. Songbird

    Songbird Well-Known Member

  6. BDC99

    BDC99 Well-Known Member

    Interesting. I did notice in one of the shots of the train afterward, there was a hole and cracks in the windshield. Maybe the engineer got hit with a rock? That would be crazy. And the kids who threw that would be shitting their pants for the past few days.
     
  7. Vombatus

    Vombatus Well-Known Member

    WTF? The grassy knoll defense?
     
    YankeeFan likes this.
  8. Vombatus

    Vombatus Well-Known Member

    Kids and morons have been throwing rocks at trains for 185 years. This isn't the cause of this accident. It is coincidental.

    From reading the stories, a SEPTA train reported being hit by something. The Amtrak engineer then radioed that he thought something similar had happened to him, EARLIER. And he didn't radio, oh shit, my train is accelerating out of control.

    Coincidence. Not the cause of the accident.
     
  9. The Big Ragu

    The Big Ragu Moderator Staff Member

    The SEPTA train having been hit with something was reported almost immediately when the stories on the Amtrak crash came out.

    And there are reports that an Acela train that came through a little before that was hit with a projectile, too.

    It would suggest that someone was throwing rocks or shooting at trains from near there.

    I don't know if the train having taken a rock or a bb or bullet somehow caused what happened, but it is becoming more and more likely that there is a story here that we all don't know.
     
  10. Vombatus

    Vombatus Well-Known Member

    Yes, a story, but not the cause of the accident.
     
  11. The Big Ragu

    The Big Ragu Moderator Staff Member

    We don't know why he was going so fast into a hairpin turn like that. It all doesn't add up, though.

    According to stories, the conductor says he has no memory of what happened. We now have this train, a Septa train and an Acela train heading in the opposite direction having been hit by projectiles that night. And we have this train derailing when the conductor inexplicably speeds up in a stretch during which he should be preparing to slow down.

    So how is this for a working theory -- what others were speculating on last night on here? Kids from North Philly are throwing rocks at trains that night -- apparently it is not uncommon. They hit the train, it breaks the front window and knocks the engineer out. He falls forward onto the throttle and the train accelerates. He wakes up groggy just before the accident and pulls the emergency brake.
     
  12. BitterYoungMatador2

    BitterYoungMatador2 Well-Known Member

    Then Shithead Mayor Michael Nutter has to apologize to that "reckless" conductor.
     
Draft saved Draft deleted

Share This Page