Evidence Indicates Trucker Didn’t Heed Train Warning, NTSB Chief Says

The head of the federal agency investigating last week’s deadly collision between an Amtrak train and a steel-laden semitrailer said Thursday that evidence suggests the truck driver started into the railroad crossing after warning lights began to flash.

An attorney for the truck driver, John R. Stokes, has said his client did not cause the March 15 crash 50 miles south of Chicago by attempting to go around crossing gates and beat the oncoming train.

But Jim Hall, chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board, told a Senate panel looking into the accident that the driver’s story does not agree with evidence from the scene, including two data recorders: one from one of the train’s engines, the other from the crossing signal.

“We believe that the information and data we’ve collected so far tells a different story,” Hall said.

Federal investigators have decided to interview eyewitnesses again. Bob Lauby, head of the NTSB’s rail division, said he wasn’t satisfied that inconsistencies in testimony--including that of three people who saw the crash, Stokes and the train’s engineer--had been reconciled. He did not elaborate.

Hall also said a key part of the investigation will focus on whether Stokes’ employer, Melco Transfer Inc., adequately monitored his driving record before allowing him to stay on the road.

Ken Wykle, head of the Federal Highway Administration, said it appeared that the company met all federal requirements.

Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White announced Thursday he had no legal basis for withholding a commercial driver’s license from Stokes. Stokes, who has a long history of traffic violations, was driving on a 60-day probationary license when the Amtrak train struck his truck, killing 11 people.

The probationary period on Stokes’ license has now expired, meaning he is eligible to get his permanent commercial license again.

White said he would prefer not to give Stokes a commercial license until authorities complete their report on the accident, but he said state law gives him no basis for withholding the license.