BALTIMORE MTA ACCIDENT

[John Swindler]

As a follow-up, Fred, here are two articles from the Baltimore Sun.  The 
first concerns today's BWI accident. The second concerns the outcome of 
earlier accident at BWI.  Both are accessible at Baltimore Sun website.

Also noted that Baltimore Sun "pictures of the day" includes a rather 
crushed pickup truck.  This wasn't only vehicle accident in Baltimore for 
today.

John S.



>From: "Fred W. Schneider III" <fschnei at supernet.com>
>Reply-To: fschnei at supernet.com
>Subject: BALTIMORE MTA ACCIDENT
>Date: Tue, 15 Aug 2000 11:05:44 -0400
>
>HAVE NOT SEEN NEWSPAPERS YET.  WITF RADIO (PBS, HARRISBURG) ANNOUNCED AT 
>8:00 THIS MORNING THAT THERE HAD BEEN A "LIGHT RAIL WRECK" THIS MORNING 
>CAUSING INJURIES IN WHICH A CAR RAMMED INTO THE BUMPER AT THE AIRPORT 
>TERMINAL.  IF TRUE, THIS WOULD BE THE SECOND TIME IT HAS HAPPENED AT 
>BALTIMORE-WASHINGTON INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT.
>




To view this story on the web go to
http://www.sunspot.net/content/cover/story?section=cover&pagename=story&storyid=1150420206044

It was sent with the following comments:
     "Baltimore light rail accident"

----------------------------------------------------

Headline: Light rail crashes at BWI
Subhead: 23 passengers hurt, one seriously at site of prior wreck

By Jon Goldstein
SUNSPOT STAFF

LINTHICUM --

A light rail train crashed Tuesday morning at Baltimore Washington 
International Airport injuring 23 passengers, one seriously.

The seriously injured passenger had to be extracted from the train wreckage, 
according to Frank Fulton, a spokesman for the Mass Transit Administration, 
which operates the light rail trains. The others suffered relatively minor 
neck and back injuries, cuts and abrasions, he said.

The identity, location and condition of the most seriously injured passenger 
were not immediately released by MTA officials.

“Evidently, a train was going too fast and could not stop at the station and 
went through the barrier at the international terminal,” said Fulton.

"It felt like an earthquake," said Brenda Campbell, a 43-year-old airport 
custodian who was in a breakroom adjacent to the light rail terminal when 
the crash occurred.

Campbell said she heard a loud noise and then the terminal building shook. 
When she opened glass doors that separate the light rail station from the 
terminal black smoke poured in.

The end of the train was tilted up, she noted, penetrating a hung ceiling 
beneath the end of BWI's new international terminal building.

She called for help on a nearby courtesy phone, warning of likely injuries. 
Police and rescue personnel quickly responded.

The accident occurred at the same location and in the same manner as a 
similar crash on an adjacent track in February that injured 22 riders. The 
driver of that train tested positive for cocaine use, and MTA officials 
promised a thorough review of training and procedures.

Fulton said an MTA report on the February crash had been on the desk of 
Maryland Transportation Secretary John D. Porcari since sometime in July. He 
noted that a National Transportation Board assessment of that wreck has not 
yet been released.

Campbell, who works the 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. shift at the airport, sometimes 
takes the light rail from her North Baltimore home to BWI. She said she 
intends to keep riding but thinks the BWI terminal should be moved."It's too 
close to the airport," she said.

MTA officials said they did not know how many passengers had been riding the 
wrecked train. A total of 23 was taken to area hospitals for treatment.

Six of the passengers, three men and three women, were treated or checked 
for possible neck or knee injuries at nearby St. Agnes  Hospital. They did 
not suffer life threatening injuries, and none was expected to be admitted, 
according to a hospital spokesman.

Twelve passengers with relatively minor injuries, mostly cuts and bruises 
were treated at North Arundel Hospital, according hospital spokesman Kevin 
Murname. All were released before 11 a.m.

Harbor Hospital reported treating five passengers with relatively minor 
injuries, including scrapes and cuts.

The train crashed into the barrier at the end of the line at the airport's 
international pier at 7:15 a.m., airport spokesmen said. The front of the 
train was crushed and had ridden up onto the abutment at the end of the 
line.

The scene of the crash was roped off as officials began their preliminary 
investigation of the circumstances of the latest wreck.

Representatives of the National Transportation Safety Board were at the 
scene of the accident but had no immediate comment.

It was not immediately known whether MTA officials had been able to discuss 
the wreck with the operator of the train, who was reportedly among those 
injured. The operator was expected to receive drug and alcohol tests 
sometime Tuesday.

Air traffic at the airport was not seriously affected, although some roads 
leading to the terminal were closed temporarily and traffic on the roads was 
slowed after they were reopened, said Jennifer Cassidy, a BWI spokeswoman.








Man charged in light rail crash at BWI
Former MTA worker accused of reckless endangerment; Tested positive for 
cocaine; 22 passengers hurt after derailment at airport in February
----------------------------------------------------
By Marcia Myers
Sun Staff

The light rail operator who tested positive for cocaine after his train 
crashed at Baltimore-Washington International Airport in February was 
charged yesterday with a single misdemeanor count of reckless endangerment.

Sam Epps Jr., 53, of the 3900 block of Forest Park Ave. in Baltimore, 
received a criminal summons shortly before noon.

Epps, a 25-year Mass Transit Administration veteran, was fired four days 
after the accident after acknowledging he had taken the prescription 
painkiller oxycodone without notifying superiors as required.

A day later, results of a toxicology test showed cocaine in Epps' system. 
Anne Arundel County prosecutors said yesterday that drug charges against 
Epps were not an option.

"You have to have possession of drugs to charge someone, and no cocaine was 
found on him," said spokeswoman Kristin Riggin.

The endangerment charge carries a penalty of up to five years in prison or a 
$5,000 fine.

Epps and 22 passengers were injured Feb. 13 when the train broke through a 
barrier at the airport station in Linthicum, slammed into a bumper and 
derailed. Three of the passengers received life-threatening injuries; others 
were treated for fractures and cuts.

Although no lawsuits have resulted from the accident, MTA spokesman Anthony 
Brown said yesterday that 20 claims for damages have been filed through the 
agency's insurance claims office.

Craig Gendler, a Baltimore lawyer representing Epps, declined to comment on 
the charge. Efforts to reach Epps at his home were unsuccessful.

Epps was hired to drive buses for the MTA in 1974 and transferred to the 
light rail in 1993. After testing positive for cocaine during a random drug 
check in 1994, he completed an employee rehabilitation program and returned 
to his job.

Passengers on the train operated by Epps on Feb. 13 later described him as 
inattentive, and some said he appeared to doze off at the controls.

When first questioned, Epps denied taking cocaine. But during questioning by 
investigators for the National Transportation Safety Board in March, he 
admitted using the drug late on the Friday before the accident to relieve 
pain from oral surgery. He described rolling two wet cotton balls in cocaine 
powder and placing one in each corner of his mouth to numb his gums. He 
could not remember how much he used but denied smoking the drug, injecting 
it or ingesting it through his nose, according to investigators' reports.

Preliminary reports from the NTSB bolster the theory that human error was 
responsible for the crash rather than mechanical problems. The signal and 
brake systems appeared to be working properly, according to the reports.

Despite Epps' positive drug test and widespread publicity about it after the 
crash, a miscommunication between MTA police and the Anne Arundel County 
state's attorney's office delayed criminal action against Epps.

Prosecutor William Roessler said MTA police never mentioned anything about 
cocaine.

His office failed to subpoena the drug test results - the only way to obtain 
them under federal law.

After the accident, MTA conducted a review of its drug and alcohol policy, 
operator license procedure and training program. Recommendations were 
forwarded in late March to State Transportation Secretary John D. Porcari, 
who said at the time he expected to announce new policies within 30 days. 
"Discussions with employee groups are continuing," said the MTA's Brown.

Originally published on 7/6/2000



________________________________________________________________________
Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com