Trolley operator cited 3 times for speeding in car

By Noah Bierman and Andrew Ryan, Globe Staff

The MBTA trolley operator accused of texting when he rear-ended another train last week has received three speeding tickets in a private vehicle since 2002.

A Myspace photo of Aiden Quinn

Aiden Quinn, 24, received one speeding ticket in Middleborough on Dec. 27, 2002, and another in Raynham on Jan. 31, 2003, according to records released today by the state Registry of Motor Vehicles. Quinn also received a speeding ticket in New Hampshire on July 2, 2007, for driving 25 miles over the posted speed limit, according to Jim Van Dongen, spokesman for the New Hampshire Department of Safety.

Quinn's driving record in Massachusetts shows that he received two speeding tickets on the same day in 2007, but that appears to be a clerical error. The Massachusetts records show that he was cited for speeding in New Hampshire on April 29, 2007, which conflicts with the July 2, 2007, date provided by the New Hampshire Division of Motor Vehicles. To see his Massachusetts driving record, click here.

The records show that the Attleboro resident was also involved in a motor vehicle accident in Boston on March 8, 2008. Quinn was not cited for the crash, but it was listed as a surchargable accident, which means he was more than 50 percent at fault.

Under MBTA policy, Quinn's three speeding tickets would not have prevented his hire as a trolley operator, according to MBTA spokesman Joe Pesaturo. The agency will not hire a person as a trolley operator if they have had three moving violations in the year before they apply for the job, Pesaturo said.

Quinn provided the MBTA records that show he received the speeding tickets in Middleborough and Raynham, Pesaturo said. The MBTA did not know about the speeding ticket in New Hampshire, Pesaturo said, but Quinn qualified for the job even with those infractions.