Boston Area News

NEWTON (WBZ) ― The National Transportation Safety Board is continuing its probe into Wednesday's MBTA crash in Newton that killed a trolley operator and injured more than a dozen passengers.

Board member Kitty Higgins says investigators have found no evidence that 24-year-old Terrese Edmonds braked before her Green Line trolley slammed into another two-car train.  Higgins said there are also no telltale sand deposits, which would have been left if Edmonds applied the emergency brakes, except just before the collision point.

Edmonds was killed and more than a dozen others were injured in the crash near the Woodland Station.

Higgins also said there is no evidence of any problems with the tracks or the brakes.

The NTSB has yet to rule on a cause of the crash.

The train that was rammed Wednesday night had just begun to move after being stopped at a red light on an outbound track just outside the Woodland Station in suburban Newton. 

Higgins said investigators estimate the first train was moving about 3 to 4 miles per hour when it was hit from behind by the second train, which was estimated to be going 37 to 38 miles per hour.

The posted speed limit in that the area of the track is 40 miles per hour.

Higgins said investigators will create a reenactment of the movement of the train to see what the tracks looked like for the conductor at that time of day. 

A Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority track geometry vehicle had inspected the track the day before the crash and found no problems. Those findings were confirmed by subsequent examinations, Higgins said.

In addition, investigators found the trolley brakes and brake pads were working and sufficient, while finding no evidence the emergency brake on Edmonds' train was applied any more than the final instant before the collision.

The NTSB conducted its first interviews Friday, including one with the trailor operator of the second train. A full report is not expected for up to 18 months.

Investigators still have not obtained cell phone records they're seeking after some passengers reported seeing Edmonds on her phone before the crash.

Edmonds was a relatively inexperienced trolley operator who was hired last August and began commanding a train in October. She was a part-time employee like most new hires.

"She waited for a long time, a couple of years, for the job and she finally got it. She was so happy," said her brother Leon.

Operators must be high school graduates, hold a driver's license, complete background checks and undergo a seven-week training program that includes classroom work and trolley driving.

The train that was rammed was later removed from the scene, but the one that caused the collision remained so it could be examined, according to Joe Pesaturo, spokesman for the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. Passengers were bused around the site on Thursday.

More than one-third of the roof was bent downward over the cab where Edmonds had been working. For roughly seven hours, firefighters struggled frantically to free her from the mangled wreckage before her body was extricated early Thursday morning.

"I was able to look at the damage to the car; it was very severe," Higgins said.

Investigators told WBZ the train Edmonds was operating was a Type 7, which is designed so the lead car takes the brunt of the impact, preventing mass casualties.

One passenger was flown to Boston Medical Center and remained hospitalized in serious condition Thursday. Higgins said six others were treated at local hospitals.

Officials said they hoped to have all wreckage removed from the tracks sometime Friday. In the meantime, the T will continue bus service between Newton Highlands and Riverside.

MBTA officials said regular trolley service in Newton will resume Saturday morning and until Sunday afternoon.  On Sunday afternoon, the NTSB will shut the Green Line down as it conducts a test run for about four to five hours. 

The line is expected to fully operational for the Monday morning commute.

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