WASHINGTON — An Amtrak train was traveling at 40 mph when a conductor suffered a fatal fall in a January accident in Westerly, R.I., according to a preliminary report released Tuesday by the National Transportation Safety Board.
The accident occurred about 2:15 p.m. on Jan. 15, 2022. The conductor was discovered to be missing when the assistant conductor on Northeast Regional train No. 163 radioed the conductor as the train was ready to depart and did not receive a response. [see “Amtrak conductor killed …,” Trains News Wire, Jan. 17, 2022]. A search found the conductor, unresponsive, about 1,200 feet east of the station.
The victim was subsequently identified as 26-year-old Emily Herrera of Plainville, Mass.
NTSB investigators reviewed surveillance video from a business along the tracks and found the train arrived at Westerly with two exterior doors open and the stairwells down for unloading at a low-level platform.
The ongoing NTSB investigation will focus on railroad operating rules, the mechanical condition of the train, and internal and external oversight of the Amtrak system, according to the preliminary report.
