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Amtrak Crash Latest: Video Shows Construction Equipment On Track

Amtrak said the train was heading from New York to Savannah, Ga., on Sunday when it struck a backhoe outside  Philadelphia.
Glenn R. Hills Jr.
/
AP
Amtrak said the train was heading from New York to Savannah, Ga., on Sunday when it struck a backhoe outside Philadelphia.

The investigation into the crash of an Amtrak train just south of Philadelphia on Sunday, in which two people were killed, is ongoing.

A forward-facing video from the train that recorded footage "up to the collision" showed that there was "construction equipment on the track and work train equipment on the track immediately adjacent to the Amtrak train's track," said Ryan Frigo, the National Transportation Safety Board investigator in charge.

Frigo said the "engineer placed the train into emergency" about five seconds from the end of the recording and added that the train's speed at that time was 106 mph. The track speed at that location is 110 mph, he said.

Frigo said the cars and their maintenance records were inspected and "no anomalies" were found. He said the train's braking system would be examined Tuesday.

As The Two-Way reported yesterday, "Amtrak says the accident was caused when train 89 hit a backhoe on the tracks, derailing the lead engine. The railroad service says approximately 341 passengers and seven crew members were on board at the time."

The two people who died were "in, on or near the backhoe that was struck," said Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency spokeswoman Ruth Miller.

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