The National Transportation Safety Board Tuesday said a fatal 1999 truck-train crash in Illinois was caused by a trucker driving around the crossing gates.
The board's conclusion conflicts with a police report released last week saying the crossing gates were malfunctioning.
On March 15, 1999, an Amtrak train slammed into a tractor-trailer loaded with steel rails at a crossing in Bourbonnais, Ill., south of Chicago. Eleven people were killed and more than 100 injured.
"Based on the signal system tests and physical evidence, including evidence of the truck's position at the time of impact, both crossing gates likely lowered as designed as the accident truck approached the crossing," said the NTSB report summary. "The truck driver had amble time to safely stop his truck and avoid an accident, but likely as a result of fatigue, he failed to respond appropriately to the signals and instead decided to attempt to cross ahead of the train."
In contrast, the Illinois State Police accident reconstruction released Friday said while the crossing signal lights were flashing as driver John Stokes approached the intersection, the gates did not actually lower until he was into the grade crossing, with one of the gate arms breaking on his trailer.
However, the police report also noted the effect of Stokes' fatigue on the crash, saying he was "physically impaired by extreme sleep deprivation or fatigue." Stokes is awaiting trial on log book falsification charges.
Contributing to the accident was Melco Transfer's failure to provide driver oversight that would detect or prevent driver fatigue, the NTSB said.
Among the safety board's recommendations:
The U.S. Department of Transportation provide grants to states for pilot programs designed to increase enforcement of grade crossing laws.
That when new or upgraded crossing systems are installed that include crossing gates and event recorders, that the event recorders capture information about the position of the gates.
