PHILADELPHIA — The opening of the trial of the former Amtrak engineer at the controls for the fatal 2015 derailment of Northeast Regional train No. 188 has been delayed.
The Philadelphia Inquirer reports that the trial of Brandon Bostian, which had been scheduled to begin Tuesday, is now expected to start no sooner than Thursday because of court-related scheduling issues. A spokesman for the court declined to provide specifics on the nature of the scheduling problems, the newspaper said.
Bostian, 38, is facing eight counts of involuntary manslaughter, hundreds of counts of reckless endangerment, and causing a catastrophe in the trial in Common Pleas Court [see “Trial of Amtrak 188 engineer set to begin,” Trains News Wire, Feb. 22, 2022]. The trial is expected to last about two weeks.
My sympathies are with Mr. Bostian who made a mistake, and has had his life destroyed. Many things converged to cause the accident and there is much blame to go around. I do not know what he has been doing nor is it any of my business. He had a good career in front of him which was destroyed as was those who were his passengers. I will wait and see what comes out of the trial.
It would be nice if your reporter shared what Mr Bostian has been doing since the accident over 6 years ago. Is he still employed by Amtrak and if so in what role.