Attorney On Deadly Amtrak Derailment: The Train's Speed Is The Only Evidence You Need
By Rich Zeoli
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Attorney Robert Mongeluzzi alleged Amtrak was negligent and responsible for last week's train derailment that killed eight people and injured hundreds.
Mongeluzzi told Rich Zeoli on Talk Radio 1210 WPHT that it is already clear Amtrak is responsible for the tragedy.
"The NTSB has indicated that the train was travelling 106 MPH in a 50 MPH zone. They got that from the event data recorder. That, pure and simple, is the only evidence you need. Trains that derail on sharp speed limited turns are travelling in excess of the speed limit. That's what happened here."
He stated that technology is already in place to prevent such crashes but it was not being used.
"The victims probably feel even worse now when it was reported that Amtrak has automatic train control which automatically slows trains down in curves and they have that on the southbound traffic, but not northbound train traffic, until yesterday when they reopened. This technology's been available for decades. It was in use, literally, five feet away on the opposite set of tracks and it would've prevented this accident."
Mongeluzzi also explained that a federal cap for damages may not be enough to pay out all of the victims from the accident.
"There is a $200 million cap that was part of the federal act that started Amtrak about 20-25 years ago. It's obvious, given inflation, that, in a mass disaster, a cap like that potentially could not be enough money... In that situation, obviously, there would be a challenge to the Constitutionality of the cap. Sometimes those challenges are successful and sometimes those aren't. I think this is way too early to tell."
