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NTSB: Newton T Crash Driver May Have Fallen Asleep

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Jul 14, 2009 1:31 pm US/Eastern

NTSB: Newton T Crash Driver May Have Fallen Asleep

Updated Photos: May 2008 Crash Scene

BOSTON (WBZ) ―

Click to enlarge 1 of 3: Evidence photos released by the NTSB in July 2009 show the trolley that rear-ended the other trolley. The front of the car crumpled underneath the trolley, trapping Terrese Edmonds in the wreckage.
NTSB
Click to enlarge 2 of 3: The aftermath of the May 28, 2008 crash in Newton.
WBZ
Click to enlarge 3 of 3: Terrese Edmonds
WBZ

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Investigators told a federal safety panel Tuesday that the MBTA trolley operator killed in a May 2008 collision in Newton had ignored a red stop signal and may have fallen asleep.

The findings came in the National Transportation Safety Board's final report presented at a briefing in Washington, D.C.

Read: The NTSB Report

Read: The Report Summary

They also said the MBTA should have been using technology meant to stop trains that fail to stop for signals. The technology is already in use on other MBTA lines and they believe it could have prevented this disaster.

Officials say the Green Line operator, Terrese Edmonds, 24, should have halted her trolley for one minute and continued slowly at 10 mph because the signal was red, indicating a train ahead.

Instead, her trolley plowed into another train, killing her and injuring seven others.

MICROSLEEP TRIGGERED?

Investigators said Tuesday that Edmonds was a high risk for an undiagnosed case of sleep apnea. That combined with several other factors may have triggered "microsleep," causing her to miss the red light.

COLLISION WARNING SYSTEM

The NTSB said an alert system should have been part of the Green Line trains and could have avoided the collision, even if there was operator error.

The system is in use on the Orange and Red Lines, but was not on the Green Line at the time of the crash.

The MBTA has started testing the system on high-speed trolleys on the Ashmont connector.

Acting Chairman Mark Rosenker said if such an automatic braking system had been implemented, "I don't believe we'd be here discussing this today."

"If technology exists and it exists on the other lines, why would the Green Line not have everything possible that is going to prevent the accidents from happening?"

The system uses radio waves and increasingly rapid beeping to alert drivers as they approach another train.

If the driver fails to stop, it automatically stops the train.

The crash damage was estimated at $8.6 million by investigators.

An estimated 185 to 200 passengers were on the two trains at the time of the crash.

NO DRUGS OR ALCOHOL FOUND

Investigators also told the panel testing showed no illegal drugs or alcohol were detected in the Edmonds' system when she died.

Testing showed the presence of Doxylamine, which is used in over-the-counter sleeping aids, in Edmonds' urine.

Investigators did not say in their report submitted to the safety panel whether they believed that was a factor in the crash.