NTSB: Engineer On Split Schedule, Didn’t Hit Brakes Before Crash
LOS ANGELES — The engineer whose commuter train was involved in last week’s deadly wreck near Los Angeles was in the midst of an 11-and-a-half hour split shift.
Federal investigators say the engineer routinely worked a split shift, from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. including a three and a-half hour break. The conductor says the engineer told him he took a two-hour nap during his break Friday, before going back to work at 2 p.m.
The crash of the commuter train and a freight train occurred around 4:30 p.m. after the engineer ran a red light that could have prevented the disaster.
Investigators say the engineer never hit the brakes before the crash. He was among 25 people killed.
An NTSB official says it’s too early to tell whether the split schedule might have been a factor.
