PHILADELPHIA — Amtrak engineer Brandon Bostian has been found not guilty of all charges stemming from the fatal May 12, 2015, derailment of Northeast Regional train 188.
CBS News reports the jury returned its verdict after a little more than an hour of deliberations.
The 38-year-old Bostian was tried on charges of causing a catastrophe, eight counts of involuntary manslaughter — one for each of the passengers killed in the accident — and more than 200 counts of reckless endangerment. The trial came after a convoluted legal path that saw the charges against Bostian dropped and reinstated twice.
The New York Times quoted Bostian’s lawyer, Brian McMonagle, as saying the verdict “gave [Bostian] his future back.
“Brandon made a mistake because of the distraction, and that’s not a crime,” McMonagle said. “I explained to the jury that good people make honest mistakes every day, and it’s not criminal conduct.”
Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro, whose office prosecuted the case, said in a Friday statement that his office “respects the jury’s verdict” finding that Bostian’s actions were not criminal.
“There is no question that the excessive speed of the train that the defendant operated resulted in death and injury to his passengers,” the statement said. “Our goal throughout this long legal process was to seek justice for each and every victim, and help bring victims’ families and their loved ones closure.”
KYW-TV reports jurors departed quickly without discussing their decision.
The jury had begun deliberations Friday morning when the judge announced that an alternate would join the panel, replacing a juror whose sister died Thursday night. Deliberations than began anew.
The derailment occurred after Bostian’s train entered a 50-mph curve at more than 100 mph. The National Transportation Safety Board’s accident report concluded that Bostian lost “situational awareness,” at least in part because he was following radio reports of rocks that had been thrown at other trains in the area.
— Updated at 9 p.m. CST with reactions from Bostian attorney, Pennsylvania attorney general.
Share this article
