Page 4 - ARUBA TODAY

A4 U.S. NEWS
Wednesday 20 december 2017
Official: Feds look at whether train engineer was distracted

By MICHAEL BALSAMO will talk to the engineer
HAVEN DALEY and other crew members.
Associated Press In previous wrecks, investi-
DUPONT, Wash. (AP) — In- gators looked at whether
vestigators are looking into the engineer was distract-
whether the Amtrak engi- ed or incapacitated.
neer whose speeding train The engineer, whose name
plunged off an overpass, was not released, was
killing at least three people, bleeding from the head af-
was distracted by the pres- ter the wreck, and his eyes
ence of an employee-in- were swollen shut, accord-
training next to him in the ing to radio transmissions
locomotive, a federal offi- from a crew member. The
cial said Tuesday. transmissions mentioned a
The official, who was not second person in the front
authorized to discuss the of the train who was also
matter publicly and spoke hurt.
on condition of anonymity, The train, with 85 passen-
said investigators want to gers and crew members,
know whether the engineer was making the inaugural
lost “situational awareness” run along a fast new by-
because of the second pass route that was cre-
Two damaged train cars sit on flatbed trailers after being taken from the scene of an Amtrak train person in the cab. ated by refurbishing freight
crash onto Interstate 5 a day earlier Tuesday, Dec. 19, 2017, in DuPont, Wash. Federal investigators The train was hurtling at tracks alongside Interstate
say they don’t yet know why the Amtrak train was traveling 50 mph over the speed limit when it
derailed Monday south of Seattle. 80 mph in a 30 mph zone 5. The 15-mile, $180.7 mil-
(AP Photo/Elaine Thompson) Monday morning when lion project was aimed at
it ran off the rails along speeding up service by by-
a curve south of Seattle, passing a route with a num-
sending some of its cars ber of curves, single-track
plummeting onto an inter- tunnels and freight traffic.
state highway below, Na- Positive train control —
tional Transportation Safety technology that can au-
Board member Bella Dinh- tomatically slow or stop a
Zarr said late Monday, cit- speeding train — wasn’t in
ing data from the locomo- use on that stretch of track.
tive’s event recorder. Track sensors and other
Dinh-Zarr said it is not yet PTC components have
known what caused the been installed, but the sys-
train to derail and too early tem isn’t expected to be
to say why it was going so completed until the spring,
fast. She said investigators transit officials said.q

Calm days see gains on giant

Southern California wildfires

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (AP) Crawford said.
— A respite from power- Hot, gusty winds that
ful winds allowed firefight- caused a huge flare-up
ers to reach 50 percent and forced more evacua-
containment of Southern tions last weekend are ex-
California’s enormous wild- pected to whip up again
fire, but officials warned Wednesday.
that potentially dangerous The fire northwest of Los An-
gusts would return. geles has spread to about
Crews taking advantage of 423 square miles (1,095
calm conditions were per- square kilometers), making
forming a controlled burn it the third biggest in the
Tuesday to remove swaths state since accurate re-
of dry brush along the fire’s cords were kept starting in
northern edge. 1932. The largest, the 2003
“We’re going to take a lot Cedar Fire in San Diego
of that fuel out of there,” County, burned about 427
fire Capt. Rick Crawford square miles (1,105 sq. kilo-
said. meters).
“That way when the winds Officials estimate that the
come back there’ll be Thomas Fire will grow to
nothing left to burn.” become the biggest in
Residents near the city of California history before full
Ojai could see new smoke containment, which is ex-
from the controlled burn, pected by Jan. 7.q