Amtrak train traveling 106 mph before deadly crash

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[h=4]Amtrak train traveling 106 mph before deadly crash[/h]The Amtrak train that derailed in Philadelphia, killing 7 people and injuring more than 200, was purportedly traveling at 100 mph an hour — more than twice the speed limit for that section of curved track where the accident occurred.

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An investigation is underway into the deadly derailment of an Amtrak train traveling between Washington and New York. Several people were killed and many more were injured in the wreck in Philadelphia. VPC


Rescuers stand near the wreckage of an Amtrak train in Philadelphia on Wednesday, a day after it derailed, killing at least six.(Photo: Jewel Samad, AFP/Getty Images)


PHILADELPHIA — The Amtrak train that derailed in Philadelphia, killing 7 people and injuring more than 200, was traveling at 106 mph an hour shortly before the crash, the National Transportation Safety Board confirmed Wednesday.
Robert Sumwalt, NTSB board member, said during a Wednesday afternoon press conference that the emergency brakes slowed the train down to 102 mph before the accident.
That speed was allegedly more than twice the limit for that section of curved track north of Philadelphia where the accident occurred, according to several media reports.
Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter, reacting to word of the train's speed, said, "That's just insanity.''
Nutter said he didn't want to prejudge the cause. "We know what happened. We don't know why."
Amtrak's Northeast Regional Train 188 from Washington, D.C., to New York City was carrying 238 passengers and five crew members when it left the track soon after 9 p.m. ET Tuesday, throwing all seven cars into disarray along the busy New York-Philadelphia corridor.
"NTSB confirms preliminary data shows #Amtrak train speed exceeded 100 mph prior to derailment," the board, which is tasked with investigating the crash, said on Twitter. "Further calibrations are being conducted."
The train's speed was captured on the "black box" that records data on the operation of the train. The device was recovered from the wreckage site and was being analyzed at the Amtrak operations center in Wilmington, Del.
The device also records information relating to signaling and contains images from a video facing forward in the locomotive.
There is a 50 mph speed limit on the track in the area where the accident occurred, authorities said.
In addition, the Associated Press estimated that the train was traveling 107 mph according to an analysis of surveillance video.
Philadelphia police commissioner Charles Ramsey said Wednesday that the train's engineer, who has not been identified, declined to give a statement to police investigators and left a police facility with an attorney, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer.
Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter, speaking later to reporters, said he understood that the engineer had given a statement, but did not know the contents of what his remarks to police. Nutter also said that the engineer was treated for injuries sustained in the crash.
Robert Sumwalt, with the National Transportation Safety Board, said Wednesday that first responders were still on the scene "carefully examining the equipment to see if there is any one else in the rail cars."
The teams were using cranes and hydraulic jaws to pull apart the twisted metal to get access to the cars.

The remains of an Amtrak train that derailed on its way from Washington, D.C. to New York City are seen from a helicopter just outside Philadelphia.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>(Photo: Jim Lo Scalzo, epa)

The seventh body was found in twisted, shattered cars along a stretch of track, a Philadelphia fire official said.
Nutter, speaking to reporters, said it would take some time to get a full accounting of who was on the train as officials go through the tedious process of trying to match the Amtrak passenger manifest with the people taken to hospitals.
Nutter noted that even the manifest is not definitive, because some people may have failed to board the train even though they had a ticket.
Among the dead was Jim Gaines, a 48-year-old Associated Press video software architect, the news agency said. Gaines had attended meetings in Washington and was returning home to Plainsboro, N.J.His death was confirmed by his wife, Jacqueline.
One of the dead is a U.S. Naval Academy midshipman, Justin Zemser, 21, of Queens, N.Y., his mother told NBC4 New York. The school, which declined to release the name until all of his relatives were notified, did say that the victim was on leave and on his way home.
Abid Gilani, a Senior Vice President at Wells Fargo, was among those killed, according to a Wells Fargo spokesperson in New York.
Rachel Jacobs, the CEO of an online education consulting firm ApprenNet, has been missing since Tuesday night. Karl Okamoto, a Drexel law professor who founded the company, said Jacobs left a meeting with the intent to board the train.
"As of this point, no one has heard from her," Okamoto said in an email. He said Jacobs uses a "10 trip" ticket, which means there is no record of her being on the train until the conductor scans her ticket on board. He said Jacobs lives in Manhattan with her husband and two-year-old son. "We are all very frustrated by the lack of information," he said.
USA TODAY
At least 5 dead in Amtrak crash in Philadelphia




In a tweet, the company said, "Thank you for your thoughts & prayers for our CEO, Rachel Jacobs. We are still looking for Rachel & hope she will be with her family soon."
Herbert Cushing, chief medical officer at Temple University Hospital, said the sixth victim, whose name was being withheld, died of "massive chest injuries." At least eight others were still in critical condition.
Amtrak set up a hotline (1-800-523-9101) for family and friends of passengers. "This is the Amtrak family, we are very saddened by what has occurred," Anthony Coscia of Amtrak said.
Cushing said many of the injured came into three Philadelphia-area hospitals on their own, but that many did not have serious injuries. He said 25 people out of 54 admitted at Temple were still being treated.
The NTSB arrived in full force Wednesday, with teams including experts in rails, signaling and human performance to try to find out what happened.
The harrowing crash late Tuesday tossed passengers and crew members through the air as the cars left the tracks.
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Jeremy Wladis, a passenger, told CNN that as the crash occurred "cellphones were flying, laptops were flying." He said "two women were catapulted into the luggage rack."
Wladis, who was one of the first people to leave his train car, said it was "just complete chaos."
Ede Sinkovics, 44, an artist in residence in Trenton who was treated at Aria Health-Frankford Campus, tells Philly.com that he was hit in the chest and leg when the train's chairs dislodged from the force of impact.
"I was looking at my computer when I felt the car start to shake and the lights flipped, flashed," said Sinkovics, who is originally from Hungary.
He tells Philly.com that he held onto his seat to avoid being thrown about the cabin.
"Other people, they had broken mouths, there was loud screaming," he said.
Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter spoke to reporters after surveying the scene during the night.
"It is an absolute disastrous mess," Nutter said. "Never seen anything like it in my life."
He said all seven train cars, including the engine, were in "various stages of disarray," and that cars were "completely overturned, on their side, ripped apart."
"It is a devastating scene down there," he said. "We walked the entire length of the train area, and the engine completely separated from the rest of the train, and one of the cars is perpendicular to the rest of the cars. It's unbelievable."
In Washington, President Obama said he and the first lady "were shocked and deeply saddened" to hear of the derailment.

AMTRAK TRAIN DERAILMENT IN PHILADELPHIAAmtrak train crash rider: Felt like it 'lifted off' | 01:40Investigators say the Amtrak train that derailed in Philadelphia late Tuesday night was going more than 100 miles per hour, more than twice the speed limit. VPC

AMTRAK TRAIN DERAILMENT IN PHILADELPHIARaw: NTSB footage of Amtrak Train #188 Derailment in Philadelphia | 01:43NTSB video, without audio, of Amtrak's derailment in Philadelphia. The Amtrak train that derailed in Philadelphia, killing 7 people and injuring more than 200, was traveling more than 100 mph an hour at the time of the crash. NTSB raw footage.

AMTRAK TRAIN DERAILMENT IN PHILADELPHIANTSB on Amtrak crash: 'It's a devastating scene' | 01:24Federal investigators will be examining the wreckage of the Amtrak train that left the tracks last night in Philadelphia, killing at least six people and sending more than 140 others to hospitals. (May 13) AP

AMTRAK TRAIN DERAILMENT IN PHILADELPHIATrain derailment witness describes horrifying scene | 01:07A witness says he saw train cars everywhere, after an Amtrak train derailed in Philadelphia. At least five people are known dead and dozens are hurt, after the Tuesday night train wreck. (May 13) AP

AMTRAK TRAIN DERAILMENT IN PHILADELPHIADeadly Amtrak train crash in Philadelphia 'devastating' | 02:16An investigation is underway into the deadly derailment of an Amtrak train traveling between Washington and New York. Several people were killed and many more were injured in the wreck in Philadelphia. VPC

AMTRAK TRAIN DERAILMENT IN PHILADELPHIAPassenger: Train 'looked like piles of metal' | 00:54Paul Cheung, an AP employee, was on the Amtrak train that derailed in Philadelphia on Tuesday night. He says that after the accident the train "looked all mangled up, just piles of metal." (May 13) AP

AMTRAK TRAIN DERAILMENT IN PHILADELPHIA5 dead in train wreck confirms Philadelphia mayor | 01:27Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter says at least five people died when an Amtrak train derailed on Tuesday evening. Dozens were taken to area hospitals. (May 13) AP

AMTRAK TRAIN DERAILMENT IN PHILADELPHIARaw: Amtrak train derailed in Philadelphia | 01:18An Amtrak train headed to New York City derailed in Philadelphia on Tuesday night, mangling the front of it and injuring several people, some of whom climbed out of windows to get away. (May 12) AP

AMTRAK TRAIN DERAILMENT IN PHILADELPHIACommittee urges reform following Phily accident | 02:22Transportation committee members are pushing for rail safety reform following the deadly derailment of an Amtrak train Tuesday night. (May 13) AP

AMTRAK TRAIN DERAILMENT IN PHILADELPHIAPassenger: Train 'felt like it was taking off' | 02:00Train passenger Jeffrey Kutler said it felt like his train left the ground as it rounded a sharp curve and derailed in an old industrial neighborhood of Philadelphia. The crash killed at least seven people and injured more than 200. (May 13) AP





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"Along the Northeast Corridor, Amtrak is a way of life for many. From Washington, DC and Philadelphia to New York City and Boston, this is a tragedy that touches us all," he said.
Amtrak trains running in the 456-mile northeast corridor that links Washington, D.C. with Boston stop in major hubs such as Philadelphia and New York City. While the track is shared with numerous commuter lines, it is particularly lucrative for, and vital, to Amtrak.
The indefinite suspension of service between New York and Philadelphia will impact millions of commuters. As of 2013, Amtrak ferried 11.4 million riders between Washington, New York and Boston.
And with more than 2,200 trains running over some section of the route every day, Amtrak ferries more than three times as many passengers between Washington D.C. and New York as the airline industry. It also carries more travelers between New York and Boston than all air carriers put together.
One of the passengers, Jillian Jorgensen, 27, who covers politics for The New York Observer, says she was thrown from her car when it turned onto its side.
She tells the Associated Press that things got "very bumpy" and she flew across the train. She says she eventually landed underneath some seats.
She says she heard people screaming and saw people trapped. She says one man was lying still in the center of the car and his face was covered in blood. She got out via an emergency exit window.

Individuals with questions about their friends and family on train 188 should call Amtrak's Incident Hotline at 800-523-9101.
— Amtrak (@Amtrak) May 13, 2015​

Another passenger, Daniel Wetrin, took refuge in at a nearby elementary school, WPVI-TV reports.
"I think the fact that I walked off (the train) kind of made it even more surreal because a lot of people didn't walk off," he said. "I walked off as if, like, I was in a movie. There were people standing around, people with bloody faces. There were people, chairs, tables mangled about in the compartment ... power cables all buckled down as you stepped off the train."
Paul Cheung, an Associated Press employee who was at the back of the train, said "the front looks pretty bad" and that he saw "some people mangled up."
Former U.S. representative Patrick Murphy tweeted that he was on the train, that he was OK, but that others were hurt. "Helping others. Pray for those injured," Murphy tweeted.
Amtrak said it will not run services between New York and Philadelphia on Wednesday, but Amtrak tickets will be honored by New Jersey Transit between New York City and Trenton.
The company added that it will provide a modified service between Washington and Philadelphia, Harrisburg and Philadelphia, and New York and Boston on Wednesday.
Police in Philadelphia issued a statement asking members of the public not to go anywhere near the scene of the derailment to allow first responders to do their jobs.
Contributing: Marisol Bello, USA TODAY; Bart Jansen, USA TODAY; Associated Press
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