Official: Feds look at whether train engineer was distracted

Three killed in Amtrak crash

In this photo provided by Daniella Fenelon, first responders work at the scene of an Amtrak train that derailed in DuPont, south of Seattle on Monday. The Amtrak train making the first-ever run along a faster new route hurtled off an overpass south of Seattle and spilled some of its cars onto the highway below, killing some people, injuring dozens and crushing a few vehicles, authorities said. Fenelon was a passenger of the train. - photo by Associated Press

W train — In this photo provided by Daniella Fenelon, first responders work at the scene of an Amtrak train that derailed in DuPont, south of Seattle on Monday. The Amtrak train making the first-ever run along a faster new route hurtled off an overpass south of Seattle and spilled some of its cars onto the highway below, killing some people, injuring dozens and crushing a few vehicles, authorities said. Fenelon was a passenger of the train. - photo by Associated Press

DUPONT, Wash. — Investigators are looking into whether the Amtrak engineer whose speeding train plunged off an overpass, killing at least three people, was distracted by the presence of an employee-in-training next to him in the locomotive, a federal official said Tuesday. The official, who was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity, said investigators want to know whether the engineer lost "situational awareness" because of the second person in the cab. The train was hurtling at 80 mph in a 30 mph zone Monday morning when it ran off the rails along a curve south of Seattle, sending some of its cars plummeting onto an interstate highway below, National Transportation Safety Board member Bella Dinh-Zarr said late Monday, citing data from the locomotive's event recorder.

Associated Press

Associated Press