Deliberations in the trial of an Amtrak engineer charged with causing a deadly 2015 derailment in Philadelphia will start anew Friday afternoon after a juror experienced a death in the family.
The jury had begun weighing criminal charges against engineer Brandon Bostian on Friday morning when the judge announced around noon that an alternate would step in. The jury must now begin its deliberations from the start to include the new juror.
Bostian, 38, is charged with causing a catastrophe, involuntary manslaughter and reckless endangerment.
Eight people died and more than 200 people were injured when the train rounded a curve at more than twice the speed limit and derailed in north Philadelphia. Amtrak agreed to pay $265 million in civil settlements to victims and their families.
The jury must decide whether Bostian sped up intentionally, knowing the risks — the threshold required for criminal negligence. Federal safety investigators believe he lost what they call “situational awareness” on the track, thinking he was past the curve and on the straightaway when he accelerated.
Common Pleas Judge Barbara McDermott said the juror whose sister died Thursday night came to court Friday and began deliberations before asking to be relieved.
The state Attorney General’s Office is prosecuting the case because city prosecutors declined to pursue a criminal case. Some of the victims' families had pressed for charges.
