Cellphone, marijuana use preceded CPR train crash: report

Engineer consumed 10 litres of water in attempt to flush away traces of drug, federal safety board reveals
By Larry Pynn, Vancouver Sun, October 8, 2011
The crew of a Canadian Pacific Railway train failed to obey a stop signal and crashed into another train near Golden after making "numerous" cellphone communications, the federal Transportation Safety Board has found.

The last cellphone communication occurred about one minute before a safety-related radio message that preceded the March 2010 crash, the board's report revealed.

Shortly after the crash, the locomotive engineer consumed about 10 litres of water in an attempt to flush away evidence of marijuana from his system, the report noted.
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The engineer and conductor went for treatment of minor injuries to Golden and District General Hospital, where the engineer lost consciousness and was transported by air ambulance to Foothills Medical Centre in Calgary suffering from hyponatremia, an abnormally low level of sodium.

He was released two days later. The board's report noted that "railway rules and company policy establish strict protocols for the use of personal electronic devices by employees in safety sensitive positions while on duty" but that some employees still do not fully appreciate how dangerous such distractions can be.

The crew's train was travelling 43 kilometres per hour and hauling 112 empty hopper cars and crashed into a train travelling 46 km/h with 142 cars loaded with potash.

Three locomotives and 26 rail cars derailed in the crash. A punctured 4,500-litre propane tank caused a fire resulting in the destruction of a storage shed.

Several residences and businesses were evacuated.

CPR fired both the engineer and conductor following an internal investigation.

"This was a significant accident caused by crew errors," CPR spokesman Ed Greenberg said Friday, adding that random drug testing of employees is not allowed in Canada.

The engineer in the Golden crash was not tested for drugs and alcohol until more than 11 hours after the crash, too late to produce conclusive test results given the amount of water ingested.

"It was later determined that the locomotive engineer had been exposed to marijuana, some time prior to the accident," the report said.

Tests earlier on the conductor proved negative.

While both crew members were responsible for safe operation of the train, the conductor had "overall responsibility," the board said.

A similar case led to the deaths of 25 people on Sept. 12, 2008, in a head-on collision between a Metrolink passenger train and a Union Pacific freight train in California, the board noted.

lpynn@vancouversun.com
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