Lack of Bridge Lights Cited in Amtrak Crash

Lawyers for a towboat crew blamed the absence of warning lights on a bridge for the barge crash suspected of causing Amtrak’s deadliest disaster.

Attorneys for the crew of the Mauvilla gave their first public explanation Friday about the events that led to the bridge collapse and crash of Amtrak’s Sunset Limited that killed 47 people last week.

National Transportation Safety Board investigators earlier said that a barge struck the rail bridge that collapsed, plunging the train into Big Bayou Canot, north of Mobile, on Sept. 22.

The bridge, owned by CSX Transportation Inc., has a seven-foot clearance over the water and the bayou is away from the commercial shipping lanes.

“This bridge had no lights, no reflectors or other warning devices indicating that it blocked a navigable waterway approximately 400 feet wide and 27 feet deep. The bridge also had no protective systems guarding the approach,” attorney Donald Briskman said at a news conference.

CSX spokesman Jay Westbrook said Friday: “This is a self-serving statement made on behalf of individuals who have very good reasons for being concerned about their culpability in this tragedy.”