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« Updated statement from Massachusetts Bay Commuter Railroad |
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Tuesday, January 9, 2007
By Raja Mishra, Globe Staff
A commuter rail train plowed into a work crew at a Woburn track crossing, killing two workers and critically injuring another, while injuring several passengers as the massive locomotive lurched to a halt.
The violent collision left a mangled piece of repair equipment lying on the side of the tracks, as dozens of emergency crews descended on the scene.
MBTA officials said the tragedy was apparently caused by an improperly positioned track switch, the rail devices that move trains between various tracks. The faulty switch should have directed the commuter train on a track parallel to the one the workers were on, but instead sent the train straight into them.
The Boston-bound train was coming from Lowell when it hit the crew at about 2 p.m. just south of Mishawum Station and north of Montvale Avenue in Woburn. The six-person work crew had been replacing ties on the track since just after morning rush hour, said Massachusetts Bay Transportation officials. Dispatch, the operations control centers for area trains, had been notified that the crew was in place. At least 10 trains had been through the area prior to the accident, said MBTA spokesman Joe Pesaturo.
The crew and the tie-replacing equipment took a direct hit from the train, which sustained several shattered windows but no significant damage. At least 10 of the 43 passengers on board were shaken up and transported to local hospitals, according to local emergency workers. None of the 10 passengers had visible signs of injuries.
Transit officials identified of one of the crew members killed today as Christopher Macaulay, 30, Brentwood, NH. Officials did not release the name of the other man who died or two of those who were injured because their families had not yet been notified.
Another crew member, John Hickey, 50, of Lowell, was flown to Boston Medical Center. The sixth crew member, Edwin Olson, 55, also of Lowell, was rushed to Lahey Clinic Medical Center in Burlington. The two surviving crew members who were not identified were taken to Winchester Hospital.
The workers were employed by the Massachusetts Bay Commuter Railroad, a private consortium under contract to operate and maintain the MBTA's rail fleet. The MBTA bused the stranded passengers to train stations in Woburn and Winchester, where they could continue on other trains.
The injured worker was flown to a Boston hospital. The MBTA was withholding the names of the killed workers pending notification of their families.
"MBCR is stunned and deeply saddened by today's horrific tragedy. Our hearts go out to the family and loved ones of these workers," said Richard A Davey, Jr., general counsel for the MBCR.
Justin Pimpare, an environmental engineer on his way back home to Boston from his Lowell office, was on the train's second car at the time of the crash.
"It was like going from 50 mph to zero," he said. "We were traveling along and I heard a large bang and the train came to a screeching halt. It felt like we had been derailed."
His colleague, Maureen McClelland, 55, a toxicologist from Boston, said, "We got knocked into our seats and then went forward."
Her head and hands were driven into the seat back, causing slight bruising on her knuckles. But she said most passengers in her car took it in stride.
"There was not mass panic," said McClelland.
Posted by the Boston Globe City & Region Desk at 05:59 PM
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