Tests: Maintenance Workers Killed By Train In Pa. Were On Drugs
PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Federal safety officials say both maintenance workers killed by an Amtrak train in April near Philadelphia were on drugs when the crash happened.
Toxicology reports released Thursday show backhoe operator Joseph Carter Jr. had cocaine in his system and supervisor Peter Adamovich tested positive for morphine, codeine and oxycodone.
The workers were struck by a train traveling at 100 mph while performing maintenance along the tracks. Tests show the train's engineer tested positive for marijuana.
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Investigators are blaming at a lax safety culture for putting the workers in harm's way.
The track where the backhoe was working was closed to trains until about 20 minutes before the crash.
National Transportation Safety Board investigators found a foreman supervising the maintenance work never called the train dispatcher to request that the track be closed again.
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