By adamg on Wed., 5/28/2008 - 7:11 pm
UPDATE, 10:10 p.m.: The Globe reports the trapped operator, Terrese Edmonds, has died.
UPDATE, 9 p.m.: One operator still trapped.
Channel 5 reports two Riverside trolleys collided around 6 p.m. near the Woodland stop. Channel 4 has more, says one train was stopped at a red signal. Operator of the second train trapped, eight people seriously injured.
WBZ Radio reported helicopters and ambulances to ferry the more severely injured to hospitals; walking wounded slowly making their way to the train stop.
Staging area set up at Brae Burn Country Club. Initial emergency reports.
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Remember when it was illegal for lawyers to advertise?
By Ron Newman
Thu, 05/29/2008 - 7:39pm
Doctors, too. Also prescription drugs. Wouldn't we be better off going back to those days?
Sleazy, tactless, sick...
By bumptoe
Thu, 05/29/2008 - 7:29pm
I know that The Shepard Law Firm of Boston, for example, handles cases like this, and they set up a hotline in order to help people: 800-451-4471 or you could just go to their site
Thank you so much for your slimy faux recommendation!
If you're going to be so disgusting and post that here, why not just call it what it is and say, 'call my shyster sleazy ambulance chasing law office today and get your share of the settlement pie'?!?
haha
By Neal
Fri, 05/30/2008 - 10:10am
I wish anyone luck with these clowns. This is one of the firms that the attorneys in the law office where I work poke fun at whenever they try to sue one of our clients. Usually they're lucky if they get a settlement that's just enough to cover the legal fees. Firms like this are a disgrace to the legal profession.
Latest news from boston.com
By Kaz
Thu, 05/29/2008 - 11:40am
The article ends:
...In 19-aught-9, a trolley on the A line scared a mule into knocking over Mme. Abigail Haberdashery.
...In 1775, amid preparations for war, a man named Embee Teeay bumped into a British guard and received the stockades for 3 days.
That's nothing
By adamg
Thu, 05/29/2008 - 11:41am
Last night, Channel 5 listed T crashes going back to the mid-'90s.
BBC
By John A Keith
Thu, 05/29/2008 - 11:52am
BBC covered the story during last night's news.
- from your friend in the UK
Link
By adamg
Thu, 05/29/2008 - 12:01pm
Can we hire their announcer?
I expect better from the BBC
By Ron Newman
Thu, 05/29/2008 - 7:48pm
Not the announcer's voice -- that was fine. But anyone in London should know the difference between a heavy rail subway (the Underground, or our Red Line, or Chicago's L); a light-rail line (Docklands Light Rail or our Green Line); and a commuter train (which London, Boston, and Chicago all have many of)
Lead NTSB investigator is on TV now
By adamg
Thu, 05/29/2008 - 1:02pm
And not saying much, which isn't surprising, given that she just got to the scene. She did say the accident was not likely caused by a derailment, though. Investigators will look at track conditions, signals, the trains themselves and, of course, "human factors."
No black boxes on trolleys, but there might be some data involving the wheels and information at the dispatch center. Besides the NTSB, the MBTA, the governor's office, the Middlesex County DA's office and the Boston Carmen's Union will be involved.
Emergency responders did an excellent job, she said. She said it was "fortunate" the accident was only two stops away from the end of the line, because that meant there were fewer people onboard.
The union is investigating!?
By Brett
Thu, 05/29/2008 - 1:38pm
Besides the NTSB, the MBTA, the governor's office, the Middlesex County DA's office and the Boston Carmen's Union will be involved.
What is the union doing investigating this or being involved in any way? Or the Governor's office? Both are purely political entities, and neither is qualified for accident investigation.
The only thing I see the Boston Carmen's Union doing is pressuring the investigation to not find fault with the driver- and making sure all of their union members clam up unless whatever they say doesn't put themselves in a good light.
Emergency responders did an excellent job, she said.
I fail to see how not extricating the driver before she died qualifies as an "excellent job."
You knew she was alive?
By SwirlyGrrl
Thu, 05/29/2008 - 2:03pm
Really? How'd you know that?
It looked more to me like they got in to her to help quickly enough, only to find out it was too late. Then they took their time with the wreckage while next of kin were notified.
Here's how
By Gareth
Thu, 05/29/2008 - 2:24pm
On Board: 200
Died: 1
Alive: 199
Flown to Boston Medical: 1+
Ambulance to Newton-Wellesley: 6+
Treated at scene: 5+
Take a look at the picture of the front of that trolley. The front where it should be vertical is practically horizontal. Getting the driver out in a single piece is surprising.
But maybe you know some special way to put people back together after something like that that emergency responders don't know.
And it's not like, if she
By Mary Ellen
Thu, 05/29/2008 - 2:33pm
And it's not like, if she was alive when they first got there, they could just grab her and yank her out! It take a lot of care to remove someone from a wreck like that without making their injuries worse.
Involved, not investigating
By BStu
Thu, 05/29/2008 - 2:35pm
Why is it surprising that they would talk to the carmen's union during an investigation? Of course they would be "involved" with the NTSB's investigation. Indeed, it may well be to advocate for the woman who died, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. I wouldn't want them pressured into absolving her, but I likewise don't want them rushing to judge her if there is something else at fault.
As to the emergency personnel, we have little information right now and I see little reason to criticize them because a woman died in this accident. What we have seen is dozens of responders working to free people trapped in the wreckage, including the operator. That someone died is a tragedy, but that doesn't mean there was anything emergency personnel could have done to save her. I don't see a reason right now to assume that they failed to do anything they could have safely and readily done, so I see little cause for lashing out at them to assign blame.
'The Green Line's on fire?'
By adamg
Thu, 05/29/2008 - 3:27pm
The Tab posts the initial 911 call from a Dorset Road resident.
On her cell phone?
By adamg
Thu, 05/29/2008 - 4:37pm
Channel 5 reports that's one thing investigators will look at.
I hope that's not the case,
By BostonMatt
Thu, 05/29/2008 - 6:30pm
I hope that's not the case, but I ride the Green Line everyday and once in a while you see the conductor on a cell phone.
Why on earth would anyone think that it's a good idea?
By stephencaldwell
Thu, 05/29/2008 - 7:09pm
It's one thing to be distracted while responsible for a 3000lb missile. It's another thing to be distracted while responsible for a 30000lb missile with 100+ people on it.
Cell phones + vehicles = always a bad idea
By Arborway
Thu, 05/29/2008 - 7:16pm
People are selfish. That's why driving while dialing and texting bills never make it through the legislature. There have been studies done showing how even a handsfree phone will severely impair reaction time and general attentiveness of a driver.
Anecdotal and scientific evidence supports the argument that using a phone while driving just about anything is a terrible idea, but people will continue to do it because they don't want their lifestyle infringed upon for the safety of others.
those light-rail-vehicles
By anon
Fri, 05/30/2008 - 8:00am
those light-rail-vehicles weigh about 80,000 pounds each, empty, and replacement cost is anywhere from a million and up each.:
http://www.lightrail.com/carspecpages/toronto/alrv...
All four of those LRVs could be badly damaged enough so they might become usable for parts only. The total cost for the lawsuits and other expenses might add up to a truly impressive sum.
I hope this isn't all because a 24 year old couldn't stay off the cell phone.
I hope she wasn't on the phone
By bumptoe
Thu, 05/29/2008 - 7:14pm
No matter what the cause, it's still tragic, but if it turns out she was on the phone, I hope this scares the pants off of every T operator into not doing it, because they do plenty. I've seen it on the B line, the 70 & 66, and reported it to the T when I've been able to jot down the vehicle number. It's bad enough people talk on cells while driving cars/trucks/bicycles, but to do so while operating a HUGE HEAVY machine full of people is not acceptable.
I've seen it more times than
By Arborway
Thu, 05/29/2008 - 7:18pm
I've seen it more times than I can count, and it should be an automatic suspension every time. There are [i]plenty[/i] of people lined up to take a job on the Green Line, and MBTA managers and the union just need to get with it and lay down the law.
Actually, if reported, it's
By anon
Thu, 05/29/2008 - 11:26pm
Actually, if reported, it's a three day suspension for the first offense, ten days for the second and fired for the third time.
Green Line radios
By Neal
Fri, 05/30/2008 - 10:04am
MBTA Green Line trolleys (and I think buses) are equipped with radios that have a handset that looks very much like a telephone. If she was talking to dispatch on it before or during the crash, I can see how eyewitnesses might conclude that she was on a cell phone.
I know of the radios you're
By Arborway
Fri, 05/30/2008 - 10:09am
I know of the radios you're talking about, and they look like 1960s Ma Bell handsets, not like a cell phone.
Maybe so
By Neal
Fri, 05/30/2008 - 10:57am
But eyewitness accounts can be very unreliable. One person may see an operator talking on a radio handset while another person sees that same handset as a cell phone.
In any case
By Gareth
Fri, 05/30/2008 - 11:02am
Eyewitness testimony is not necessary to establish whether she was on the phone. That's what phone company records are for. No need to speculate.
some news reports said
By anon
Fri, 05/30/2008 - 2:18pm
some news reports said witnesses said the subway car driver was texting just before the impact. Also, the father said in a tv interview that he often called her on her cell phone when she was at work. When he suspected she was the driver in the accident, he repeatedly tried to call her on her cell phone.
She probably used her cell phone often while driving the subway car.
I would hesitate
By Gareth
Fri, 05/30/2008 - 2:24pm
I would hesitate to jump to such a conclusion.
Determination of whether or not she was on the phone at or prior to the crash will not be difficult. I am content to wait.
Not the brakes or tracks
By adamg
Fri, 05/30/2008 - 8:22pm
Investigators rule both out as possible cause; no evidence Edmonds ever applied the brakes.
At least this deflates the
By Arborway
Fri, 05/30/2008 - 8:47pm
At least this deflates the "WTF THE GREEN LINE IS A HORRIBLY MAINTAINED POS!" hysteria that the media has been trying to whip up for the past few days.
Partly true
By SwirlyGrrl
Fri, 05/30/2008 - 10:13pm
They haven't ruled out a signal error yet.
Speed kills
By adamg
Sun, 06/01/2008 - 9:35am
Train sped before crash, NTSB says.
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