Expert: New route may have distracted engineer before crash
SEATTLE (AP) — Experts say it's possible the engineer on an Amtrak train that derailed as it hurtled into a curve at more than twice the speed limit was distracted for an extended period of time before the train plunged off an overpass and onto a busy interstate, a key factor in the investigation.
Authorities on Wednesday reopened two southbound lanes of Interstate 5 - the Pacific Northwest's main north-south arterial - that had been closed since Monday's accident as federal investigators focused on whether the engineer's attention was diverted by a second person in the cab, or by something else.
Three men were killed Monday south of Seattle when the train barreled into a 30 mph zone at 80 mph.