Train Deaths Ruled Accidental in Inquest

The deaths of 11 people in the collision of an Amtrak train and a steel-laden truck were ruled an accident and not homicide by a coroner’s inquest jury--a decision that does not prevent prosecutors from bringing charges. Amtrak’s City of New Orleans slammed into the truck March 15 in Bourbonnais, Ill. Investigators have been looking into whether the truck driver tried to go around the crossing gates and beat the train. No one has been charged. The jury in Kankakee heard testimony from two police officers and a fire chief and deliberated just 20 minutes. John R. Stokes, the truck driver, attended the hearing but declined to testify, citing his 5th Amendment protection against self-incrimination. Stokes--who was driving on a probationary permit because of previous traffic violations--will lose his commercial driver’s license for 60 days because of an unrelated ticket.