Worker dies of heart attack after rail crash
Train hits forklift at track repair site
Confusion and clashing explanations followed an early morning accident yesterday in which an Amtrak train slammed into a forklift less than a mile from South Station. An Amtrak flagman suffered cardiac arrest at the scene and later died.
A local construction company repairing a track overpass and Amtrak offered differing accounts of why the forklift had been left on the track. The construction firm, Jay Cashman Inc., said its workers carefully followed Amtrak's safety plan, while MBTA investigators gathered evidence that suggested otherwise.
No one was injured in the crash, which occurred around 2 a.m. and sent five workers scrambling for safety. Amtrak identified the flagman as Stephen M. Parker, 50, of Raynham. Parker, who Amtrak officials said had preexisting health problems, was pronounced dead at Tufts-New England Medical Center at 3:01 a.m. It was unclear yesterday how long after the crash he went into cardiac arrest.
The 23 passengers on board Amtrak Train 448 were transferred to an MBTA train and arrived at South Station three hours after the accident. The tracks by the Washington Street overpass were closed for two hours while investigators collected evidence.
The train had been traveling below the 30 mile-per-hour speed limit in that area, Amtrak officials said.
The crash recalled an accident in Woburn in January that left two track workers dead after a commuter train plowed into a work crew. That accident was caused by an improperly set track switch, the result of an error by a manager within the complex off-site computerized track-management system.
The investigation into yesterday's crash appeared to focus on an Amtrak work order that governed where the three-man crew from Quincy-based Jay Cashman Inc. could work as they made re pairs to the overpass. The work orders insure that crews avoid train traffic.
The crash occurred in a thicket of seven tracks on the approach to South Station, the region's major rail hub.
According to T officials investigating the incident, the Amtrak foreman at the site said the work order indicated that the Cashman crew was permitted to leave equipment on tracks 2, 3, and 7. But the forklift was left on track 5, where the train plowed into it, suggesting a worker error.
"An Amtrak foreman at the scene told Transit Police investigators that the work order was for three tracks," said T spokesman Joe Pesaturo. "The work orders will be thoroughly scrutinized by detectives as part of the ongoing investigation."
A spokesman for Cashman said the company's workers precisely followed Amtrak's orders.
"Our preliminary review of the event indicates that the Cashman Construction crew took all safety precautions as required by Amtrak and positioned equipment as directed by Amtrak," said George K. Regan.
Amtrak spokesman Cliff Cole declined to offer a version of the crash.
"The evidence is inconclusive as to exactly what happened," he said. "We're waiting for an investigation to be concluded."
Regan said that the Cashman crew had attended a 1 a.m. safety meeting conducted by Amtrak. Two Amtrak flagmen, including Parker, provided the crew access to the tracks. At 1:56 a.m., a Cashman construction worker saw the train coming and "yelled for everyone to jump out of the way," Regan said.
Pesaturo said there were multiple work orders under scrutiny.
"The work orders are not necessarily the same for each time period in which a crew is granted access to the right-of-way," he said. "As part of their very active investigation, MBTA Transit Police detectives will examine all aspects of the work orders as part of their efforts to establish the circumstances that led to this accident."
Investigators from the Federal Railroad Administration are also probing the crash.
The Cashman crew had begun repairing concrete supports of the Washington Street overpass last year, taking a break over winter.
Parker's family declined to comment yesterday. Neighbors in Raynham, 35 miles south of Boston, described him as friendly and helpful and said he was involved in church and youth baseball.
Michelle Bessette, a neighbor for the past 15 years, called him "a great guy."
"He was always there to lend a hand," she said. "He offered to plow our driveway. If he knew we were going away, he would say he would keep an eye on the house. He was someone you could really rely on."
David Abel, Mac Daniel, John R. Ellement, and Andrew Ryan of the Globe staff contributed to this report. 