Former Amtrak Engineer Brandon Bostian Found Not Guilty On All Counts In Deadly 2015 Train Derailment
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- After a week-long trial, a jury has found Brandon Bostian, the former Amtrak engineer who operated a train that derailed in May 2015 in Philadelphia and killed eight people and injured more than 200 others, not guilty on all counts on Friday. Bostian had been charged with involuntary manslaughter, causing a catastrophe, and 238 counts of reckless endangerment.
Bostian could have been sentenced to life in prison if he had been found guilty. But the jury decided to acquit.
He can now put the trial behind him.
Bostian was visibly emotional as he stood next to his attorneys outside court Friday afternoon.
2015 Amtrak Derailment Photos Shown In Trial
The jury found the former Amtrak engineer not guilty of eight counts of involuntary manslaughter, 244 counts of reckless endangerment, and one count of causing a catastrophe.
Bostian's train derailed in Philadelphia's Port Richmond neighborhood in May 2015, killing eight people and injuring more than 200 others.
"It has been since 2015 he has been living with this nightmare. And we are just so appreciative of this good jury's verdict," Brian McMonagle, Bostian's attorney, said.
Prosecutors tried to convince the jury Bostian should be found guilty because he was going more than twice the speed limit around a sharp curve when his train flew off the tracks.
But the defense said Bostian was distracted by radio transmissions about trespassers throwing rocks at two nearby trains.
The jury was convinced the tragedy was an accident, not a crime.
"Now he gets a chance to take a deep breath and figure out what to do next and to go on and try to live a good life. I think he's owed that," McMonagle said.
Eyewitness News spoke to the lawyer who represented the victims during the civil suit. He says the trial was about accountability.
"The verdict is what it is. It's a jury verdict. Juries make decisions," personal injury attorney Tom Kline said.
Celebrated chef Eli Kulp, who was left with a spinal injury in the derailment and is now a quadriplegic, says the verdict doesn't change much for him.
"I don't know how I feel about it. I've moved on," Kulp said. "He was responsible for it. I mean it was his fault. It wasn't criminal, but it was his fault. I think that would've helped people have some closure."
Kulp was on Train 188 headed to New York when his life changed forever.
"I remember the crash quite vividly and I remember taking my last steps, I remember selecting my seat," he said.
Like many, he watched the trial closely. Kulp wasn't surprised by the verdict.
"I feel that what Brandon Bostian did on that night he regrets deeply," Kulp said.
The jury deliberated the case quickly. To some, the acquittal was not a surprise.
With no comment, the jury rushed out of the Criminal Justice Center after deliberating the case for less than an hour and a half. But to some, their not guilty verdict was expected.
The federal government previously declined to file criminal charges against Bostian. So did Philly's former district attorney Seth Williams.
So it was the Pennsylvania Attorney General's Office that took over the case. But during the trial, the judge expressed skepticism over the evidence showing the incident as a criminal matter.
The jury agreed with their no guilty verdict.
"This was a question of if this person is a threat to society," Nate Benefield with the Commonwealth Foundation said.
Benefield questions the use of prosecutorial resources in this case by the AG's office.
"What the attorney general should be focused on, is it's violent and repeat offenders, child predators, and corrupt public officials and getting them out of office. And it's questionable whether this should be as much of a priority as it seems to have been," Benefield said.
In a statement, the Attorney General's Office said: "Our goal throughout this long legal process was to seek justice for each and every victim and help bring victims' families and their loved ones closure. Ultimately, the jury did not find his actions to be criminal, and we respect the jury's verdict."
The AG's office says following the verdict, refiling charges is now prohibited.
Amtrak accepted responsibility for the tragedy and paid $265 million to settle claims by the victims and their families. The train was on its way to New York City and departed from Washington D.C.
Since the derailment, Amtrak has installed a positive-train control technology that can automatically slow or stop a speeding train on its track from Boston to Washington.
CBS3's Madeleine Wright, Matt Petrillo and Jasmine Payoute contributed to this report.
