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Driver 'Boasted Of His Speed' Before Spain Train Crash

Colin Hale |
July 25, 2013 | 12:55 p.m. PDT

Executive Producer

The death toll in Wednesday's train crash in Spain rose to 80 with 141 people injured as Spanish and European Union investigators begin to look at the actions of the driver and the train's high speed.

An analysis of closed-circuit video of the crash by the Associated Press indicated that the train was going between 89 and 119 mph on a stretch of track that is limited to 50 mph. The driver of the train has been placed under formal investigation, according to Reuters.

Several newspapers in Spain reported that the driver's Facebook page showed several posts of him "boasting of driving trains at high speed." The Facebook page was removed on Thursday.

According to several European train experts, the high-speed hybrid diesel-electric Alvia S-730 train has driver override capabilities. The Alvia S-730 train, built by a joint venture between Spanish company Talgo and Bombardier, has a top speed of 149 mph (240 km/h).

Bloomberg reported that the section of the track where the accident occurred lacked the European Rail Traffic Management System, which provides "continuous data on train speeds and overrides the drivers if they breach restrictions."

Witnesses and first responders in the city of Santiago de Compostela, where the crash occurred, rushed to the scene and attempted to get survivors from the burning wreckage. One witness said that "the train was burning, people were screaming, 'get me out of here,' and we were pulling them out through the windows, using metal panels from the train as stretchers."

"It was hell."

Spanish officials are also working to identify the victims of the crash. The U.S. State Department said that six Americans were on board the train when it derailed, with one killed and five injured.

President Obama and Mrs. Obama expressed their condolences, saying they were "shocked and saddened" by the news.

"Today the American people grieve with our Spanish friends, who are in our thoughts and prayers," Obama said in a statement on Thursday. "We stand ready to provide any assistance we can in the difficult days ahead."

"We also offer our heartfelt gratitude to the government of Spain and to the rescue personnel who are working to locate the missing and treat the injured -- including at least six Americans."

Wednesday's crash in Spain comes after a deadly train accident in France two weeks ago that killed six people. The July 12 accident was the first fatal high-speed train accident in 30 years, according to France's state owned railway company. 

Officials said that there appears to be no connection between the two incidents, both of which are described as "rare aberrations for Europe's ultra-safe rail system."

Reach Executive Producer Colin Hale here.  Follow him on Twitter.



 

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