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New Details Emerge In Amtrak Derailment Case

by Chris Tognotti

Some new details have emerged in the case of the harrowing Amtrak derailment earlier this week, as detailed by ABC News, and while it's far too early to draw any firm conclusions, they're worth noting. According to the National Transportation Safety Bureau (NTSB), an assistant conductor believes she heard engineer Brandon Bastion state (to another engineer, over his radio) that the Amtrak train had been struck by something prior to its derailment. Bastion reportedly did not mention this when he submitted to an interview with NTSB investigators Friday.

According to the NTSB, the hitherto unnamed conductor, one of three that were aboard the train when it went off the rails, overheard the conversation on her portable radio just moments prior to the horrible incident. She told investigators that she heard the other engineer, with the Southeastern Philadelphia Transit Authority (SEPTA), state that he believed his train had been struck by something, or that someone had fired a shot at it. Bastion then allegedly replied that he thought the same had happened to his train. Shortly after, the crash occurred.

NTSB board member Robert Sumwalt also told ABC News that investigators had discovered some damage to the train's windshield, and that the FBI has been called in.

We have seen damage to the lower left-hand portion of the Amtrak windshield that we have asked the FBI to come in and take a look at for us.