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Green Line operator in court to face negligence charge

E-mail|Link|Comments () July 20, 2009 08:49 AM

By Brian R. Ballou, Globe Staff

The Green Line operator who told authorities he was text messaging his girlfriend before a serious crash pleaded not guilty today to gross negligence.

A Myspace photo of Aiden Quinn

Aiden Quinn's life "has been shattered" by the threat of up to three years in prison for the May 8 crash at Government Center, according to defense lawyer James L. Sultan.

"He's doing his best to face the situation," Sultan said.

Quinn, 24, stood silently in Suffolk Superior Court dressed in a black suit, wearing glasses, and sporting a close-cropped haircut. His mother and girlfriend sat behind him throughout the brief proceeding. He was released with bail but must report to probation once a week until a July 27 hearing.

Quinn is accused of gross negligence for a rear-end collision that injured 62 passengers and caused $9 million in damage, including the loss of three trolley cars. Investigators determined that Quinn was typing on his cellphone, without looking at the track, while the train traveled for almost 600 feet through a tunnel, at about 25 miles per hour, running a yellow and a red light.

By the time he glanced up and pulled the emergency brake, Green Line car 3612 was just 8 feet from the rear of another trolley stopped on the tracks, the investigation found.

Though none of the crash injuries was life-threatening, several were significant, according to the Suffolk District Attorney's office. A 28-year-old Lynn woman broke her pelvis and may not walk again. A 19-year-old Salem woman suffered a concussion and broken vertebrae. One victim listed among the injured was five months pregnant, though there was no apparent effect on the pregnancy.

To charge Quinn criminally, Suffolk District Attorney Daniel F. Conley's office relied on a statute that is 135 years old -- gross negligence by a person in control of a train -- that has been seldom used, if ever, in Massachusetts courts.

"I think they picked the wrong statute to prosecute this individual," Sultan said.

Quinn has become a symbol in the MBTA, and among lawmakers, of the dangers of using cellphones and other messaging devices while operating a vehicle. After the crash, the T initiated the strictest cellphone ban in the country, prohibiting its drivers from carrying any kind of electronic device on a train or bus.