No criminal charges for MU grad involved in deadly 2015 Amtrak derailment

On Tuesday, a judge dismissed criminal charges against the engineer and MU graduate involved in an Amtrak derailment that killed eight people and injured more than 200 in May 2015.

Investigators said Brandon Bostian was in control of the Washington-to-New York train when it left the tracks after reaching speeds above 100 mph on a 50 mph curve.

Judge Thomas Gehret said based on the prosecutor’s evidence, he felt it the crash was “more likely an accident than criminal negligence.”

According to the AP, Bostian was arrested in May after the family of one of the victims filed a private criminal complaint, and another judge overruled prosecutors who’d said there wasn’t enough evidence against him.

Federal safety investigators believe Bostian lost his bearings while distracted by an incident with a nearby train.