2 at T may be fired in crashes

Tested positive for substance use; Agency defends screening process

Two members of the MBTA crews involved in separate Green Line accidents over the past week tested positive for drugs or alcohol, raising questions about the level of substance abuse among the employees responsible for ferrying hundreds of thousands of commuters each day.

The two employees, who by policy were tested immediately after the incidents, have been suspended without pay while the T completes the formal process of firing them, said Joe Pesaturo, spokesman for the MBTA.

A rear-end collision injured seven people at Boylston Station last Friday. On Monday, a Boston College student was struck as he was crossing the tracks wearing headphones. None of the injuries was considered to be life-threatening.

The T worker in the Monday morning crash was not directly involved in operating a vehicle, but he did have some safety-related responsibilities as the rear-car operator. The agency has not cited impairment as the cause of either of the accidents, which are still under investigation.

Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority officials condemned the actions of their employees, but denied that the transit agency has a substance abuse problem. The T's programs and rules, they said, are actually more comprehensive than those required by the Federal Transit Administration.

"There is absolutely no excuse for behavior that jeopardizes the safety of our passengers and other employees," Daniel A. Grabauskas, general manager of the MBTA, said in an e-mail. "As demonstrated in these cases, any employee that violates the MBTA's drug and alcohol policy will be fired."

The MBTA confirmed the positive results in response to Globe inquiries. Pesaturo would not release the employees' names.

Their union representative called the allegations disappointing, if true. "I am uncertain that it is factual, but we would encourage and expect all our members to conduct themselves in their personal lives in a manner that puts public safety first," said Steve MacDougall, president-treasurer of the Boston Carmen's Union, Local 589.

One employee, a 39-year-old man hired two years ago, was operating a trolley that rear-ended a second trolley at Boylston Station during rush hour Friday morning, Pesaturo said. The operator tested positive for cocaine, said an official who requested anonymity because the investigation is ongoing.

The crash did not damage or derail the trolleys, but the impact sent seven people from the packed trolley cars to local hospitals complaining of head and neck pain, Pesaturo said. The crash also tied up the morning commute, requiring riders to board buses between Arlington Street Station and Government Center for an hour and 45 minutes.

The second employee, a 33-year-old man hired last year, was working in the rear car of a trolley that struck a Boston College student just east of Boston College Station on Commonwealth Avenue Monday morning. The anonymous official said the employee tested positive for alcohol in a blood alcohol test, recording a level below the .08 percent state limit for driving a car but above the MBTA's .02 percent limit.

The employee was not driving the trolley, Pesaturo said. Rear-car operators are responsible for ensuring fare collection in their cars and making public address announcements to passengers. They can communicate with the lead operator via radio and are expected to serve as an extra set of eyes and ears, Pesaturo said.

The Boston College student who was hit by the trolley - Michael J. Cordo, 21 - suffered serious head injuries and facial lacerations and was taken to Brigham and Women's Hospital, officials said at the time of the accident. He was wearing headphones and walked in front of the train, Pesaturo said. Traffic on that portion of the Green Line was disrupted for 4 1/2 hours.

The MBTA screens all crew members involved in crashes for drugs and alcohol immediately after the incidents. The T also tests employees before hiring them and, as required under federal rules, performs random tests on employees with safety-sensitive jobs. Twenty-five percent of these employees are tested for drugs every year, while 10 percent are tested for alcohol.

The two suspended employees had both been selected for random testing within the past 13 months, Pesaturo said. Neither tested positive, he said.

"The MBTA cannot be in someone's home, but there are things that supervisors look for when someone reports to work," Pesaturo said.

Pesaturo would not comment on what, if any, observations the two employees' supervisors made on the days of the accidents, calling that part of the ongoing investigations.

Pesaturo said the T's drug- and alcohol-prevention programs include referral services, in-house counseling, new hire orientation, regular training, and health insurance that includes treatment for substance abuse.

"There are numerous ways for employees to get help if they want it," he said.

Earlier this year, the National Transportation Safety Board recommended a change in federal drug-testing rules for railroad employees in a report that followed last year's deadly crash between an MBTA commuter train and a maintenance truck in Woburn. The crash killed two track workers, one of whom tested positive for marijuana. Human error and failure to follow safety rules were cited as factors in the crash.

Noah Bierman can be reached at nbierman@globe.com.