DutchRailnut wrote:the rock conspiracy started because of pictures of windshield , the FBI investigation narrowed it down to cracks in windshield started appearing during the derailment.
don't forget this train plowed into dirt at close to 100 mph.
Some still like to believe the rock, despite evidence the FBI provided to NTSB ??
My post about the rock was not to say that a rock hit 188, but that the rock STARTED the whole thing. Yes, the engineer is responsible for operating the locomotive properly, but the distraction that was caused by the "rock" incident on the radio could cause someone to lose their train of thought. I don't know about you, but I WAS IN the cab of an E-60 that was hit by a brick at track speed (in the 1970's - this was before "ghetto grates") right in the same area that this incident occurred, and the result was an engineer that nearly died from a severe head injury, and I (luckily) only got some scratches from the broken glass (I was riding in the middle jump seat - I was a travelling electrician at the time). I could see how this engineer thinking that there was a possibility of a rock coming at him from one of the overpasses could distract him and maybe have him forget exactly where he was. Does that exonerate him from all blame? NO, but just like someone who has an "ACCIDENT" in a car that results in a death, because they were distracted by one of their children misbehaving, they would not be CRIMINALLY liable for it.