Articles Posted in MBTA Accident

On Wednesday evening, a Green Line train derailed at 5:50pm, according to the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. Fortunately, the train was not in service and neither of the two crew members onboard were injured. The MBTA accident occurred as the inbound trolley was looping to go outbound.

Service on the Green Line was suspended between Government Center and North Station, but was expected to resume by early Thursday morning. This marks the second Green Line accident near Government Center this year. An earlier subway accident in May injured dozens of people and caused millions of dollars in damage.

Authorities are investigating what caused the trolley to derail.

Green line train derails at Govt. Center, Daily Free Press, September 3, 2009 Continue reading

Last week, a man in his fifties was injured when he leaned past the yellow line on the platform and was struck by a northbound Red Line train. According to Deputy Chief Joseph O’Connor, the man was transported to Tufts Medical Center after suffering head injuries and upper body lacerations. An MBTA spokesman said the injuries were minor.

Following the MBTA accident, the T diverted trains, running substitute shuttle bus service between Broadway and Park Street stations. Because Downtown Crossing was too congested for buses, T officials instructed passengers to walk to South Station.

The Red Line resumed service a little less than an hour after the subway accident. Authorities are still trying to determine what happened to cause the accident.

Red Line resumes service after train strikes person at South Station, Boston Globe, August 20, 2009 Continue reading

Last week, the Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority’s general manager Daniel A. Grabauskas resigned under pressure from the current Democratic administration. Under Grabauskas’s leadership, the MBTA had come under fire for several reasons, including a subway accident earlier this year that over 60 people and caused $9 million in property damage. The MBTA was also being criticized for its financial woes, as the transit authority threatened to increase fares and/or cut service to make up million dollars in debt.

Despite criticism of Grabauskas’ leadership, he won a payout of $327,487, a sum that some consider to be irresponsible in light of the MBTA’s financial trouble.

In a press conference at the MBTA’s operations control center last week, State Transportation Secretary James A. Aloisi Jr. and MBTA interim general manager William Mitchell reassured MBTA customers that service and accountability would improve under new leadership. The merger of state transit agencies will be completed on November 1.

Aloisi promises a better MBTA, Boston Globe, August 8, 2009 Continue reading

The Associated Press reports that two injured women have sued the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) over the May 8 MBTA accident that injured 62 people when two trains collided. A personal injury lawyer for Rebecca Bishop says the woman fractured her pelvis as a result of the subway accident.

In a separate suit, Jennifer Levi of Brookline is suing because she suffered a wrist injury and is concerned about the health of her unborn child. Both suits were filed in Suffolk Superior Court last month. They don’t name a dollar amount, but the injured women seek “ample compensation.”

According to a spokesperson for the MBTA, the transit authority does not comment on pending litigation.

2 injured women sue over Boston trolley crash, Associated Press, July 21, 2009 Continue reading

The Boston subway operator who was allegedly texting his girlfriend when he missed a red light and hit another subway car appeared in Suffolk Superior Court in Boston earlier today. He pleaded not guilty to one charge of gross negligence while in control of a train.

Twenty-four-year old Aiden Quinn was free set free without bail, but he is due back in court next Monday.

Quinn was fired from his with the MBTA the week after the subway accident and faces up to three years in prison for the May 8 accident, which injured dozens of people and caused $9 million in property damage. He also suffered a broken wrist in the MBTA accident.

T driver pleads not guilty, Boston Herald, July 20, 2009
Texting Boston Trolley Driver to Appear in Court, Associated Press, July 20, 2009 Continue reading

The National Transportation Safety Board has been investigating a fatal train accident that occurred last year, killing a Boston trolley operator. The safety board’s 14-month investigation blamed the operator for ignoring a red signal along the tracks but also criticized the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority for failing to screen operators for sleep disorders.

The board suspects that the operator may have had a sleep disorder and potentially fell asleep behind the wheel, causing her to miss the red signal. Although she had not been diagnosed with sleep apnea, the board concluded that the operator likely had an undiagnosed sleep disorder because she was obese and tests showed that she had taken doxylamine, an ingredient commonly found in sleep aids.

There was no evidence of drugs or alcohol in her system at the time of the MBTA accident, which makes it surprising that the operator did not apply the brakes to avoid an accident. The trolley collision occurred in Newton, Massachusetts and caused an estimated $8.6 million in damage.

NTSB: Sleep disorder may have contributed to Boston train crash, CNN.com, July 14, 2009 Continue reading

Following a subway accident that injured close to fifty people last week, the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority has announced that it will ban subway and bus drivers from carrying electronic devices of any kind while they are operating T vehicles. The ban goes into effect on Monday.

The driver involved with last week’s subway crash is refusing to answer questions from federal investigators regarding the MBTA accident. He has already admitted to texting his girlfriend at the time of the crash.

MBTA operators are already banned from using cell phones on the job. Those found with a cell phone in their possession will now face a 10-day suspension. If they are found using a cell phone, employees face an automatic 30-day suspension and recommendation for discharge. This is the strictest regulation of any major transit authority in the country.

Mass. Transit Authority Banning Driver Cell Phones, WBUR.com, May 13, 2009 Continue reading

A Blue Line train accident on Friday morning claimed the life of a Winthrop man who reportedly jumped in front of the train. Media outlets have reported his age as 44 or 54, and the circumstances surrounding this apparent suicide are unknown.

The man was hit and killed by a train entering Revere Beach station around 10:30am, according to a statement issued by the MBTA.

The MBTA was forced to Blue Line interrupt service for about two hours following the MBTA accident, and commuters were bused between Orient Heights and Wonderland in both directions while MBTA Transit Police and the district attorney’s office investigated the train accident. By about 12:30pm, the Blue Line was running as scheduled.

Revere Blue Line service interrupted by apparent suicide, ItemLive.com, May 8, 2009
Man killed in Blue Line train accident, Boston Globe, May 8, 2009 Continue reading

On Friday evening, an MBTA crash injured over forty people and forced MBTA to temporarily discontinue service between Government Center and Park Street on the Green Line. Two trains collided when an MBTA driver reportedly passed a yellow light, then ran a red light while texting his girlfriend.

Authorities said the driver, Aiden Quinn, 24, of Attleboro, Massachusetts, may be fired later this week if investigators confirm that he was using a cell phone prior to the crash. He may also face criminal charges, and officials say he did not attend a meeting with MBTA supervisors on Sunday.

The MBTA has already banned trolley operators from texting while on duty in response to an earlier MBTA accident. The MBTA has already suspended several other bus and trolley drivers for using cell phones while driving. However, the more recent incident has triggered an even tougher policy that will soon go into effect: train drivers caught with a cell phone while working will be fired.

Damages from the train crash are estimated around $9.6 million, but it is still under investigation.

Green Line Trains Running, Crash Under Investigation, The Boston Channel, May 11, 2009 Continue reading

Governor Deval Patrick and a blue-ribbon panel sought a $100,000 cap on damages paid for public transit accidents, but before the vote, the Massachusetts Senate’s Ways and Means Committee added loophole exempting cases that involve “serious bodily injury or death.”

Joe Pesaturo, a spokesperson for the MBTA, said the transit authority has been seeking such a cap since 1985. He estimates that such caps could save the transit authority 20 to 25 percent in personal injury-related claims.

Right now the MBTA is appealing two judgments totaling $20 million. One case involves a woman who was hit by a bus while standing at a bus stop in Somerville. Another involves a woman who lost a leg following a bus accident in 2004.

However, Senator Steven Panagiotakos, a personal injury lawyer in Lowell, claims that mass transit agencies should not be exempt from paying high liability awards because of the dangerous nature of transportation.

“If they’re getting hit with punitive damages, it’s a sign it’s a pretty serious matter to begin with,” said Panagiotakos. “So maybe it will get them to fall in line better.”

Senate Weakens Reform In Transportation Bill, The Boston Channel, April 3, 2009 Continue reading