Jun 10, 2008 4:34 pm US/Eastern
Cell Phone Ruled Out In Green Line Crash
BOSTON (WBZ) ―
-
-
A member of the National Transportation Safety Board and a team of federal investigators arrived Thursday morning.
WBZ
Poll
Will you use the T less because of the crash?
You need the latest Flash player to view our Poll.
Click here to download.
Click here to
bypass this detection if you already
have the latest Flash Player.
Cell phone records obtained by investigators reveal the train operator killed in last month's Green Line crash in Newton was not on the phone, the Middlesex District Attorney's office said.
The D.A.'s office said there is no evidence Terrese Edmonds, 24, of Boston, was talking or texting anyone on her phone at the time of the crash. There is also no evidence she was using the Internet on her cell phone prior to the deadly collision.
Federal investigators have been performing numerous tests over the past few weeks to try and determine the exact cause of the crash. The National Transportation Safety Board has already ruled out several potential causes for the accident, including problems with the track, the signals and the trolley's brakes. It was also found that nothing was blocking Edmonds' view of a signal that would have required her to stop the train at the Waban station.
Investigators say Edmonds' train was going 37 to 38 miles per hour when it hit a train going 3 to 4 miles per hour on the same track.
The Medical Examiner found no traces of alcohol or drugs in Edmonds' system, the D.A.'s office said. A complete report will take weeks to complete.
The D.A.'s office said Edmonds' phone was collected at the crash scene and analyzed. "We found no affirmative evidence that the driver was using her cell phone in the moments leading up to the collision nor that it was a factor in the crash," the D.A.'s office said. "It is our determination that there is no evidence of criminal conduct by any of the survivors of the crash... Further, there is insufficient evidence of criminal conduct by the operator of the striking trolley car."
Passengers on the trains at the time of the collision have also been interviewed by investigators.
The D.A.'s office said this case is closed.
"I knew she wasn't on the phone," said Edmonds' father Terry Jones. "When I would call her she said 'I can't talk now, I'm driving'."
Edmonds' great aunt, Shirley Dorsey, told WBZ's Eileen Curran what it's been like having people think her niece was on the cell phone while driving the trolley. "Listening to it everyday on the TV was horrible, but at the same time, I just felt like she was my hero. She gave her life, so the cell phone was immaterial to me."
NTSB spokesman Peter Knudson said the agency will review the information provided by the D.A.'s office and by any other state, federal or local agencies studying the crash. "We will continue to look at all the facts to ensure that we have a comprehensive understanding of all the elements that could be factors in this accident," Knudson said.
Knudson said the agency wouldn't speculate about a possible cause, but said the focus on their investigation has largely narrowed to include the MBTA's overall operations and human performance, which includes everything that the operator was doing.
General Manager Daniel Grabauskas said the MBTA will continue work with the NTSB to find a cause of the accident.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
Click to enlarge
Click to enlarge
Click to enlarge
Stumble It!
Comments