Northeast Regional 188 - Accident In Philadelphia

While this thread is bumped (CBS evening news just covered the renewed charges) can I ask a question about culpability:

How many conductors does a regional typically have? I'm guessing 4, at least? From riding between Aberdeen and DC ad nauseum, I've become very aware of general areas where the trains are supposed to slow down. I'm not saying I would ever pull the emergency brake cord, but I'm asking, does ANY part of conductor training cover the possibility of having to pull it, if a conductor suspects the engineer has either "gone rogue", and/or is somehow incapacitated but with a deadman mechanism having also failed? Surely the hypothetical possibility of this is part of the reason passenger trains in many parts of the world have always had brake cords in the carriages/cars? Couldn't a case be made that, if such training is provided, there is a degree of shared responsibility? I remember being on an Acela where the conductor, just as the train started leaving Boston's Back Bay...made a very hostile announcement over the PA system: "STOP THE TRAIN, DAVE". We stopped. I thought, ultimately, the chief conductor was "in charge" of the train.

liftedjeep wrote:This news just in...

Judge Orders Prosecutors to Charge Amtrak Engineer in Crash:

https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states ... k-engineer" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I read through this and... it all boils down to someone trying to turn an accident into an intentional act. I hope the state prosecutors will appeal and kill the order.

....And watch the "case" get "tossed" out due to lack of evidence. A waste of time and $$$$ to boot.
By now that engineer is Bankrupt or close to it.

dt_rt40 wrote:How many conductors does a regional typically have? I'm guessing 4, at least? I thought, ultimately, the chief conductor was "in charge" of the train.

That is correct... the conductor is in charge of the train. A typical 8-car Regional will have a conductor, assistant conductor, and I'm not sure if they consider the rear brakeman and flagman separately, or if they consider it two assistant conductors and a flagman. But in any case, only one person is the "conductor" by title/job assignment, and that person is the one the other crew members would report to.

Now, regarding the recent news: Looks like somebody is going for blood. Let more tax dollars be wasted.

If a Philly judge is going to pull this stunt, then the Delaware County DA needs to charge the track foremen who improperly fouled the railroad near Chester resulting in the deaths of two co-workers when Amtrak 89 struck their backhoe. This is simply insane.

Silverliner II wrote:Now, regarding the recent news: Looks like somebody is going for blood. Let more tax dollars be wasted.

Families of the victims filed cases which led to this court order. Are you really complaining that someone who lost their wife or daughter is "going for blood"?

Silverliner II wrote:If a Philly judge is going to pull this stunt, then the Delaware County DA needs to charge the track foremen who improperly fouled the railroad near Chester resulting in the deaths of two co-workers when Amtrak 89 struck their backhoe.

Their families are free to ask the DA to press criminal charges - and if the Delaware County DA refuses their families are free to ask a judge to compel a criminal case.

A judge, especially a low life municipal court judge, cannot order a prosecutor to file charges when that office does not feel there is sufficient cause to do so. I have no idea why the judge is pandering to someone but the order can be ignored since it has no legal standing. The judge is probably a mail order law school graduate

Read all about it and decide if this Court over which Ms. Niefield presides even has jurisdiction to place criminal charges against Mr. Bostian:

http://courts.phila.gov/municipal/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Fair Use:

The Philadelphia Municipal Court is a court of limited jurisdiction with 25 law-trained Judges, and as such is responsible for trying criminal offenses carrying maximum sentences of incarceration of five years or less, civil cases where the amount in controversy is $12,000 or less for Small Claims; unlimited dollar amounts in Landlord and Tenant cases; and $15,000 in real estate and school tax cases. Municipal Court has initial jurisdiction in processing every adult criminal arrest in Philadelphia, and conducts preliminary hearings for most adult felony cases. Because, by statute, an individual does not have the right to a jury trial in Municipal Court, cases may be appealed to the Court of Common Pleas for a trial de novo. The current appeal rate averages approximately 3% or less. The Philadelphia Municipal Court has experienced many changes since its inception. The Court continues its growth towards its goal of excellence in providing timely and equal justice to all persons who have contact with the Court

"The misdemeanor charges each carry a maximum five-year sentence."
"Attorney General Josh Shapiro's office said it's reviewing the matter. It could appeal the order to the state's Superior Court."

We can let the people who actually understand the legal system in PA figure it out. It seems that the lawyers and court are following the correct process.

In Philadelphia, Municipal Court ranks below Common Pleas; I'm wondering why the attorneys wouldn't start with Common Pleas. I believe that in many cases Municipal Court acts as the equivalent of a grand jury in determining whether there is sufficient evidence to proceed with a trial; would that be why they started with Municipal Court, I wonder?

According Fox29 Philadelphia, the engineer was charged at 5pm this evening.
http://www.fox29.com/news/254360959-st ... urn false;

necrails wrote:A judge, especially a low life municipal court judge, cannot order a prosecutor to file charges when that office does not feel there is sufficient cause to do so. I have no idea why the judge is pandering to someone but the order can be ignored since it has no legal standing. The judge is probably a mail order law school graduate

In Pennsylvania, judges apparently actually do have that power, and I only just found that out today.....

justalurker66 wrote:

Silverliner II wrote:Now, regarding the recent news: Looks like somebody is going for blood. Let more tax dollars be wasted.

Families of the victims filed cases which led to this court order. Are you really complaining that someone who lost their wife or daughter is "going for blood"?

Silverliner II wrote:If a Philly judge is going to pull this stunt, then the Delaware County DA needs to charge the track foremen who improperly fouled the railroad near Chester resulting in the deaths of two co-workers when Amtrak 89 struck their backhoe.

Their families are free to ask the DA to press criminal charges - and if the Delaware County DA refuses their families are free to ask a judge to compel a criminal case.

That the families were involved was not mentioned in the first report I read. That story pinned it all on the judge.
That being said, they will be hard pressed to have a case, given the lack of criminal intent. They sure tried to press charges against another engineer involved in a derailment that occurred under similar circumstances (excessive speed on a restricted curve resulting in fatalities), and that got squashed fairly quickly. And that was even after an extra set of mitigating circumstances came out, but there were still calls to charge him.

Now a civil case, that's an entirely new ball game....

A father/lawyer of one of the victims back in Mi started that petition to "press" for charges.
This is going to be very hard to prove "intent" from the get go.
Maybe an admin judge will put a stop to this.

IT's time to move on.

Backshophoss wrote:A father/lawyer of one of the victims back in Mi started that petition to "press" for charges.
This is going to be very hard to prove "intent" from the get go.

Rachel Jacobs. Coming from a prominent Detroit area family, mother was a MI State Senator.

Gray Lady has provided more in her coverage of this development regarding how a Lower Court has such standing to reverse a decision made by a prosecutor:

http://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/12/us/am ... lphia.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Fair Use:

Thomas R. Kline, a lawyer for the Jacobs family, said he was worried the district attorney’s decision left no other recourse for charges. But then a former city prosecutor, Richard A. Sprague, called him and told him about another option, using an obscure Pennsylvania law, Mr. Kline said.

The law allows anyone to file a private criminal complaint in municipal court requesting misdemeanor charges against someone. In Pennsylvania, involuntarily manslaughter and reckless endangerment are misdemeanors.

Might it be time for the Javert's in this world to move on?