Posted on 05/14/2015 6:56:31 PM PDT by Conscience of a Conservative
CLEARWATER -- An Amtrak conductor on medical leave in the Bay area has watched news of the derailment in Philadelphia in disbelief.
Mike Callanan worked that very northeast route for Amtrak as a conductor for five years. He even trained the conductor who was onboard when the train flew off the track, killing eight people.
“It was very emotional for me," said Callanan. "These are my brothers and sisters out there. I worked with them every day on the Northeast Corridor.”
Callanan is very familiar with the curve leaving Philadelphia where the derailment occurred. The speed limit is 50 miles an hour. The train was going more than 100 miles an hour. That’s a mind-boggling speed for Callanan who says the engineers know this a hair-pin curve and to always slow down.
“To take that curve at 106 miles an hour is just unbelievable to me,” he said.
Callanan has a theory as to what may have caused the derailment. He says that particular curve is a known trouble spot for kids throwing bricks and rocks at the train.
“I believe it is possible something was thrown at the train, broke the window and knocked out the engineer. He could have slumped forward on the throttle and accelerated the train," said Callanan.
That is part of the investigation. Philadelphia’s mayor confirmed that just 20 minutes before the derailment, a local commuter train and another Amtrak train were hit by “unknown projectiles.” An engineer’s window was broken on one of those trains. This happened on the same track as the derailment.
Callanan acknowledges this is pure speculation, but he cautions people not to rush to judgment.
“There’s a lot of pointing fingers toward the engineer and I would say let the investigation take its course and find out what happened before anybody judges anybody else,” Callanan said.
Callanan is still trying to find out the condition of all his co-workers. The conductor he trained on that route is hospitalized, suffering from a fractured skull.
On Medical leave ... right
Certainly possible.
I wonder why no mention of the color of the kids. It is a well known phenomena according to this man. Bet they aren’t white Australians.
and when i used to commute via train thru west philly we would get pommeled many times. all we ever did as kids was put pennies on the tracks.
Did the engineer have head injuries?
I don’t think so. He would have readily said that instead of running and hiding and lawyering up. His lawyers may appreciate the idea given that it would be hard to disprove. But I say, show the brick and the head injury. If he was knocked out that should be one significant bump on his head.
It doesn’t seem like he would have been able to apply the emergency brakes in that case ?
also maybe muzzies
.
BS!
.
This doesn’t fit well into the Kleptocrats narrative of needing more mountains of money, either.
The engineer’s car didn’t even tip over during this crash. If a brick came through the windshield and knocked him out, wouldn’t the brick still be sitting on the cab on the floor?
Yes, he did.
I agree we should wait til the investigation is over.
Early on there was mention of a projectile of some sort....and since it was raised BEFORE the story picked up very much....I want to know more about who saw and if so.
The Engineer does not sound to me like he would take the risk of speeding into that curve as they’re saying was done. This is a guy who was living his dream of being an Engineer......according to what others are saying.
Was the train on schedule? Was the driver trying to make up time?
Somewhere I read he had 16 or so stples in his head, so yeah, I guess he hit his head. Bear in mind, that was on the internet.
If a “kid” could throw a brick at a train going somewhere between 70-106 MPH (it was said that a minute before the derailment, the train was going 70 MPH) and hit the engineer in the head, he should be playing for the Philadelphia Phillies - not the Filadelphia Felons!
I don’t begrudge the guy for lawyering up. It’s what any person in his situation SHOULD do. Never talk to someone who can put you in jail without a lawyer present. It’s a lot easier to talk yourself into trouble than out of trouble.
And I believe there have been reports from the beginning that the guy suffered a concussion - that’s (supposedly) why he didn’t remember anything.
I don’t know if this theory is what happened or not. The point is, for all the people who are saying that the guy should be arrested and charged with manslaughter now, let the investigation happen.
“Kids” throwing stuff at the train...
Tiny little Amish Kids no doubt!
“Express Metroliner Service lets you arrive unruffled and ready for business after a swift, relaxing ride...”
Okay, if the engineer was hit in the head with a brick and slumped over, what was the conductor doing at this time?
His lawyer claimed that he had a concussion. Most that I know who have had a concussion were hospitalized overnight, sometimes longer.
It must have been a mild one because this man ran back to NY pronto and lawyered up.
Surely there would have been photos released if he suffered a head wound.
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