Amtrak Engineer Tested Positive For Opioids, Marijuana After Fatal Derailment

The Amtrak engineer on a train that crashed in Chester last April had opioids and marijuana in his system at the time of the accident, according to findings released by the National Transportation Safety Board on Thursday. The accident left two Amtrak workers dead and 35 more injured.

The Amtrak train 89 had left New York City on the morning of April 3 and was headed for Savannah, Georgia along the Northeast Corridor. It was travelling at 106 miles per hour when it struck a backhoe, a maintenance machine, that was on the tracks. The driver of the backhoe, Joe Carter, and a supervisor nearby, Peter Adamovich, were both killed.

Authorities did not make a final conclusion in the hundreds of pages of documents released as to the definitive reason for the crash, but it appears to be a miscommunication.

The train was running along Track 3, despite that track having been given a designation called "intermittent foul time," meaning that work was underway. Tracks with that designation should not have trains running on them, the report states. The backhoe was positioned on Track 3 as it operated on the adjacent Track 2.

The engineer told investigators that when he saw the backhoe, he sounded the horn and hit the breaks, but it was too late. When the train struck the backhoe, he said he felt it lift off the tracks. He sounded the alarm until just before impact, when he laid down on the floor.

The partially derailed train continued to roll for about another mile past Chester, to Trainer, before it stopped completely.

The train was carrying seven crew members and 337 passengers. All of the injured passengers recovered. Total damage was estimated to be about $2.2 million.

More information will be provided as it becomes available.

Image courtesy @GlennHills