The Metro North engineer who fell asleep at the controls in 2013, causing a derailment near Spuyten Duyvil in the Bronx and killing four people, is suing the rail line for $10 million.
William Rockefeller, whose undiagnosed sleep apnea parallels that of the engineer in September’s Hoboken crash, said Metro-North should have equipped his train with automatic brakes and audible warnings, ABC7 reported. The National Transportation Safety Board determined the 660,000-pound Metro-North train derailed when it hit a curve going 82 mph in a 30 mph speed limit zone. Four were killed and more than 70 were injured. “It feels like I want to climb out of my skin,” Rockefeller told ABC7. “It’s horrifying to me. It’s horrifying to me. I just wish it never happened. I’m sorry for it happening. I’m sorry for ev-, I just see the faces. I can’t stop seeing the faces. I’m just haunted by those faces.” No criminal charges were filed against Rockefeller. The combination of undiagnosed sleep apnea and a shift change were found to have contributed to the crash.
Engineer in deadly train derailment sues Metro-North for $10M
NTSB
