BENNET, Neb. — BNSF Railway Police believe a 17-year-old Nebraska boy intentionally caused a derailment earlier this year, recording it and posting it on line.
The Lincoln Journal Star reports the BNSF police have referred the boy to the Lancaster County Attorney’s Office for prosecution of felony criminal mischief as a result of the April 22 derailment involving a loaded coal train in Bennett. The railroad says the derailment caused an estimated $350,000 in damage.
KLKN-TV reports that two locomotives and five cars derailed. An investigation found a switch at the scene had been tampered with, and found security-camera footage of a male walking toward the switch, then driving off, and the same individual and vehicle setting up recording equipment prior to the derailment. An investigator reportedly spoke to the suspect at the derailment scene, who described himself as a “railroad enthusiast” and showed the investigator cellphone video of the derailment.
BNSF has requested a search warrant for the teen’s recording equipment and cell phone, saying the devices “may contain evidence” linking him to the crime.
No one was injured in the April 22 derailment. Bennet is about 23 miles southeast of Lincoln on BNSF’s Nebraska City Subdivision.
