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Engineer in Philadelphia Amtrak Crash Is Charged With Involuntary Manslaughter - The New York Times

posted onMay 13, 2017
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Article snippet: The was charged Friday with involuntary manslaughter — after local officials declined to pursue a criminal case, and when victims’ families took advantage of an unusual Pennsylvania law that forced officials to act. In that legal maneuver, it was the Pennsylvania attorney general’s office that brought the case against the train’s engineer, Brandon Bostian, who was also charged with causing or risking a catastrophe, and reckless endangerment. The charges were filed two years to the day after the fatal derailment. Friday was thought to be the last day that Mr. Bostian, 34, could be charged with reckless endangerment before the statute of limitations expired. As that deadline approached, the Philadelphia district attorney’s office on Tuesday closed its investigation and declined to press charges. In a statement, the office said that while Mr. Bostian was responsible for the derailment, “we cannot conclude that the evidence rises to the high level necessary to charge the engineer or anyone else with a criminal offense.” Many of the victims’ families had been pressing for charges against Mr. Bostian, whose train was going 106 miles per hour when it entered a curve with a 50 m.p.h. speed limit. On Wednesday, lawyers for 32 victims asked the district attorney’s office to accept a criminal complaint filed by the family of Rachel Jacobs, a woman killed in the crash. The district attorney’s office declined. Thomas R. Kline, a lawyer for the Jacobs family, said he was worri... Link to the full article to read more

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