50 Injured in MBTA Trolley Crash
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On Friday night, 50 people were sent to the hospital after a Green Line trolley went through a red light and crashed into a stationary train at Government Center Station. The Boston Globe reported that the 24-year-old trolley operator told T police that he was texting his girlfriend while operating the trolley through the subway tunnel.
The National Transportation Safety Board aided local authorities in investigating the crash and found no mechanical problems with the train or track involved. The crash totaled three of the four trolley cars involved and caused $9.6 million in damage.
After leaving Government Center Station, [] the train passed two green lights and a yellow light before going through a red light. It then proceeded 80 feet past the red signal, traveling at the posted speed limit of 25 miles per hour, before striking a trolley that was stopped because of congestion on the tracks. Two other trains were stopped in front of the train that was struck.
The impact jolted the stationary train 31 feet down the tracks at 10 miles per hour, according to an "event recorder" - which is similar to an airplane's "black box" - on the train that was struck. According to an on-the-tracks reconstruction of the incident yesterday, [the driver] should have been able to see the train ahead at a distance of 480 feet.
MBTA general manager, Daniel Grabauskas, explained that the T already bans cellphone use by operators while driving, but that it would now prohibit drivers from even carrying phones onto trains or buses. The driver, who will be fired, may face charges as well.
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