the lawyer for brandon bostian says his client has no memory of the crash itself and quote no explanation for what happened. robert goggin said bostian turned over his cell phone and blood sample. he has yet to make a formal statement. mayor michael nutter is placing the blame on bostian's shoulders. a conclusion the ntsb team leader on the site says is premature. >> clearly he was reckless and irresponsible in his actions. i don't know what was going on with him. i don't know what was going on in the cab. there's really no excuse that could be offered. literally unless he had a heart attack. >> i'll refrain from those remarks. this is a fact-based investigation and to make comments like that is inflammatory at this point. we want to find out what happened to prevent it from happening again. >> you think the mayor was wrong in saying that? >> well you will not hear the ntsb making comments like that. we want to get the facts before we start making judgments. >> the 32-year-old engineer has been with amtrak for nine years. first as a train conductor before becoming an engineer in 2010. >>>

so robert when are you going to be interviewing brandon bostian? >> we're very excited that he's agreed to talk to us. we plan to do it in the next few days. >> is it unusual he hasn't been interviewed yet? >> no it's not unusual at all. you have to understand he's been through a traumatic event and we want to make sure they're mentally and physically able to do it. >> he says he remembers controlling the controls and then all of a sudden looking for his bag outside of the train. are you concerned he won't have recollection of the event? >> it's not unusual that they don't have an immediate recollection of the event. we hear that all the time. so that's not unusual. the brain is trying to protect our memory of bad things. we think his interview will be invaluable regardless of what he recalls. because he can tell us how he was feeling the day of the trip and his general physical condition. >> he will hopefully help you connect the dots. because even though it is a science, you have the black boxes, you still have to interpret the information. it's

>> reporter: he says there must be more to the story than what we're hearing if it's the brandon bostian he knew. aifier bishop was a flag man on the route and he worked with brandon on hundreds of trips up and down this corridor. he says he never saw anything that would alarm him. >> good engineer. great engineer. he was on point. if there was something he didn't know he knew who to call to get the information. he didn't come off as a know it all and he knew everything. he knew what he needed to know and if he wasn't 100% sure he was going to call and make sure that he got the proper information. he wasn't going to do anything and okay i'm just going to assume that something was going to happen. he was always thorough. >> you mentioned we all know the speech we all know the trip the route. you know that that curve is coming up. you know that you're leaving philly and you've got to go slow for a while. what i can't understand then is how can this guy who you've traveled with on the tracks many times, have gone into that situation so hot? >> again, i mean -- that's the million dollar ques

there are a number of posts that appear to be written by brandon bostian bostian. we know he was an enthuseiast of trains from all the way back to high school. and in 2011 induce discussing a fatal crash by a engineer who was distracted by texting, he says at any point over the previous 80 years, the railroad could have voluntarily implemented some form of this technology where this wreck took place, but instead it took an act of congress to get them do it." and in another post he writes that he wishes that they would have been more proactive from the get go. and the reality is that they have had nearly 100 year of opportunity to implement some sort of system but failed to do so. he was obviously passionate about safety and was writing about it in 2011. >> you spoke to a former colleague of bostian's. what did he say? >> he was a flagman on this very route along with brandon bostian and xavier bishop was fired last year due to app abson teeism involving family issue. but when i asked him about any issues with brandon bostian as an engineer this is what he said. eve

christine. >>> friends and former colleagues of brandon bostian are speaking out in his defense. xavier bishop worked with him as a flagman until fired from amtrak over attendance issues. bishop says bostian is conscious. he says he has never seen bostian take a drink. >> great engineer. he was on point. if there was something he did not know he knew who to call to get the information. he did not come off as i know it all. if he wasn't sure about something, he would call and make sure that he got the proper information. he wasn't going to do anything. i'm going to assume something would happen. he was thorough. >> you mentioned we all know this speed. we know the track and route. you know that curve is coming up. you are leaving philly and you have to go slow for a while. what i can't understand then is how can this guy who you travelled with on these tracks many times have gone into this situation so hot? >> again, that's the million dollar question. to be honest with you, i'm going based on the person i know. you know, i'm not going to say we can't make mistakes. we are human.

we have been waiting to hear from the engineer brandon bostian. we do know that the ntsb spoke the two conductors and the engineer. the engineer was extremely cooperative. he had his lawyer accompanying him, which is not unlikely in this situation. that engineer recalls ringing the train bell doesn't recall anything after that. he says there were no problems with the train and he was very aware of the speed limitations. >> he said too, he was not fatigued. he said he didn't feel any sort of illness, wasn't suffering, anything like that. we're going to continue to recap this. in the meantime, go to nbc10.com. we are going to be having this news conference streaming thrive as well as our app. we'll be right back. >>> new information from the in the sb on the train derailment. the epg near, brandon bostian, was extremely cooperative, didn't report any illness or feel fatigued. but they also reported he doesn't remember anything after ringing that bell shortly after leaving philadelphia. >> and we had heard yesterday that the train was increasing goin

he is brandon bostian. loss after his train rolled. but really a bigger question right now is this. what the nine-year amtrak veteran can add to what the evidence already shows. his lawyer says he does want to cooperate fully, but the thing is he can't remember the crash. but the evidence here in this case doesn't lie. what we now know is that not only did the train not slow down

the engineer brandon bostian from queens, has no recollection of the accident.on the investigation. >> reporter: they had to look at excessive speed early were things of this like the surveillance video. when you look at the train rushing past and you know the size of the locomotive and the cars you can calculate the speed. it was clear that just 200 yards short of the point of impact it was going faster than it should have been. i'll bring in a model of the train to talk about this. the locomotive is heavy. about 97 metric tons. that is pushing up quarter million pounds. if it is traveling 50 miles an hour as it should have been here all of the physics work out fine. yes, there is force to the outside of the curve just like a car going around the corner quickly, but it is all balanced out. push it up to 100 miles an hour and that force becomes greater. maybe up here with a low center of gravity with heavy amount of weight sitting low, it doesn't tip over. not necessarily the same back there. go back to the passenger cars and that's where we had passengers descr

and as we said ntsb interviewed brandon bostian, and on tuesday when he was in the hospital he spokehis friend james weir and thank you for being with me and you have a close relationship with brandon bostian and what did you know when you saw the crash, did you instantly know that was his train? >> well thank you for having me. well i did. i turned on the television and i saw the news and i knew immediately it was his train and it was him. and i didn't want to believe it and i didn't want to confirm it and i reached out to him. >> and you sent him a text and did he respond. >> i did. and he responded. >> what did he say. >>? he said he was involved in the accident. that he wasn't able to talk much at the time. and that he was being sent at the e.r. >> and then you called him, right? >> that is correct, yes. >> how did he send to you, what did he say actually on the phone? >> the same as the text message. he sounded a bit in shock. he really couldn't talk much at that time. he's being seen for and cared for and i didn't get much of a chance at all to talk to him. >> what is he like a

brandon bostian, lives in new york, had a decade of experience. worked with them 2006, c conductor. and now what the ntsb wants to do. speak to him. they will speak to him and five other crew members within the next 24 hours, rosemary. >> samuel, we know the train's black box has been found. that of course will answer a lot of questions. but police are also in the process of getting a search warrant for bostian's phone records. what all might those record reveal? >> well, no matter what it is, whether it is a missing airliner, crashed airliner or in this case a train, cell phones can glean so much information. they want that so they can look at it and see if possibly he was text messaging or distracted at the very last moment. that's why this train was still speeding. so, those type of things can be crucial in these type of investigations now a days. >> samuel burke, reporting there, live from the crash scene. we will actually come back to you within this hour, samuel, so do stand by. we'll talk to you then. >> well for one passenger, trips on amtrak are a regular part of her life.

xavier was a flag man on this route with brandon bostian. and xavier was fired last year involving ab sentee issues involving his family but when he was asked by any problems involving brandon, this is what he had to say. >> ever see him drinking too sleeping. >> no. >> texting, phone calls? >> no. >> never had his phone out. no matter what the situation. >> let me ask you a question. what do you think happened? >> i don't know. i think something happened prior to him getting to that curve. we all know what the speed limits are. it is not a mystery to us. i've went up and down the rails with brandon hundreds of times. >> and how could this guy who you've traveled with on these tracks so many times gone into this situation so hot. >> and again, that is the million dollar question. >> the million dollar question anderson that only one man can apparently answer and that is this engineer who now has agreed to talk with the ntsb. >> all right, drew. tank you very much. >>> more breaking news the first lawsuit filed in relation to the derailment a

the man at the controls, brandon bostian. he has agreed to speak to ntsb investigators though his attorney has said that right now he has no recollection of the crash. one of the first people that bostian talked to after the crash, a close friend of his is going to join us in just a moment. first, let's get the latest on the investigation from our erin mclaughlin. what's the latest that you're picking up? >> reporter: hi, kate. investigators are saying they do not know the reasons for that train acceleration. the ntsb says they now believe that just over a minute prior to the crash that the train sped up at a time when it should have been slowing down just as it began to enter that curve. that's when they say they believe the train engineer hit the emergency brakes but by then it was simply too late. seconds later the train crashed and now that's based on detailed analysis of footage captured by that camera that was installed at the front of that train. of course, what that footage does not tell investigators is why? why was

how brandon bostian got to that speed is still under investigation. anthony deese, electrical engineer at the college of new jersey specializes in power systems and motor control and gives us some insight. >> these trains again, they don't accelerate very quickly, so it would take several fractions of a mile or miles in order to speed up from their normal speed, let's say in the 50s up to 106 miles an hour. >> reporter: when the engineer turns up the electric throttle the motor goes through a series of electronic steps checking for electronic problems. >> there would have to have been a lot of different failures that all happened at once in order for that train to speed up out of control strictly from an electrical problem. >> reporter: once the train was at 106 miles per hour it would have taken at least a half mile to slow down to the required 50 miles an hour it needed to make the turn. >> it requires almost a mile to stop when traveling at 55 miles an hour. >> reporter: now, investigators have taken blood from brandon bostian and his cell phone. n

man behind the train's controls. >> reporter: according to his professional page on linked in, brandon bostian began his career with amtrak in july 2006 as a passenger conductor. the same profile shows bostian starting as an engineer in december 2010. just a few hours after the crash, the 32-year-old changed his facebook profile picture to this black square. he went to the hospital for treatment moments after the crash. he was released and sources told "eyewitness news" he gave an initial statement to police after the crash. at this point he has not talked directly with the ntsb. >> this person has gone through a very traumatic event and we want to give him an opportunity to -- to, um, couldn't have a less for a day or so before we interviewed him but that is certainly a high priority for us. >> reporter: mayor nutter took a stronger tone when talking about bostian late wednesday afternoon. >> clearly it was wreck less in terms of the driving by the engineer, there's no way in the world that he should have been going that fast. >> reporter: according to his facebook profile bostian is from ten

and tonight, one of the big questions surrounds this man he is brandon bostian, of queens, new york. identified by his lawyer as the engineer, who was at the the controls of the train last night. the ntsb says his train was moving at 106 miles an hour, with a limit was 50. and the words of the mayor michael nutter today clearly the engineer was reckless? what was going on in the cab. there is no excuse that could be offered. the death toll now stand at seven, 200 people were treated at a total of ten hospitals. and at least ten people are still in critical condition. >>> standing by with the latest on all of this our "action news" reporter sharrie williams monica malpass kenneth moton and dann cuellar, dann cuellar is live at the scene at frankford and wheatsheaf in port richmond. dann, bring us up to dayton what officials are doing and what they are saying. >> reporter: well, jim tonight we hear from the lawyer representing train engineer brandon bostian the ntsb has not ruled on what caused this derailment but mayor michael nutter was shocked and dismayed the engineer was taking a

his name is brandon bostian. drew griffin is going to have much more on the man at the center of this in just a moment. the mayor of philadelphia on cnn calling that engineer reckless saying there's no excuse for the out-of-control speed. we also now know that bastian did apply the emergency brakes just before the crash but only slowed the train town to 102 miles an hour at impact. 102 to 102, then it crashed. you can see the curve where the train derailed. as you can see, it very sharp. horrific crash killing at least seven people. more than 200 injured, many of them in critical condition at this hour. it is almost 24 hours after this crash but there are still people missing. people hoping that their loved ones will be the miracle story tonight. this surveillance video shows the speeding train at the moment of the crash. >> are you okay? he's calling, okay? >> crawl forward, sir. keep crawling. >> passengers many of them with broken bones and serious head injuries, were scrambling desperately to escape. drew gri

stitches. >> james we're says bostian was adamant about safety and specifically mentioned it many times. >> i don't think this is his fault. i don't believe that it's his fault. brandons not the kind of guy even if he was going through a hard time he wouldn't do this. >> reporter: if bostian wasn't tired or wasn't sick could he have been under the influence of something? the ntsb said they are performing toxicology tests those will not be ready for a few days. it's a very intricate process to get those back much that's the latest from the ntsb investigating the fbi also investigating this key. we're live in port richmond david spunt cbs3 "eyewitness news". >> more information to come in the coming days, david thanks so much. >>> one of the passengers killed in the derailment is laid to rest. justin zemser was a 20-year-old midshipman at the u.s. naval academy. his funeral took place in hewett, new york. his mother wiped away tears as she walk pass adeline of sailors. 150 midshipmen turned out for the funeral. >> now to the stories of first responder who's sprang within action. they risked their lives to save as many victims as possible. today "eyewitness news" spoke

what do we know about brandon bostian?page and he made a post right after the crash, about five hours after the crash and changed his profile picture to black. since then he hasn't written anything a number of -- we also had a conversation with a friend who he knew in college, he said he's always loved trained. this was a job that was a passion for him. and that is reflected both in what he said and also as a high schooler in his hometown in memphis, he wrote for the local paper. and one of his co-workers had said he always chased the transportation stories and subways and trains. it paints a picture of a bit of a passion for the job for sure. >> i want to come back to you here and reiterate that what you were giving us was a hunch as you said, it was a hunch. no sort of concrete evidence that bostian was asleep at the wheel. based on things that you've seen in your past and similar situations like this what are some of the other possible scenarios that could have led to what we saw a few days ago? >> another possible scen

the engineer brandon bostian, suffered minor injuries. he talked to police briefly, but did not give a formal statement before calling a lawyer and leaving the police station. can you think of any reason a train having just left the station would get up to 100 miles an hour? >> well, we want to look at that. we want to look at the acceleration of the train. we want to look at how the train was operated. >> reporter: the 1-year-old high tech electric engine came to rest upright in the dirt. but behind it, the first passenger car, twisted and mangled. the next three cars on their side. the last three still standing. ntsb board member sumwalt tells me that they are going to remove five of the cars and the engine. they are leaving two cars there, the most damaged cars. david, there is a chance there may be additional victims in the damaged cars. >> of course. david kerley, who covers transportation, right here in philadelphia with me. david, thank you. >>> and tonight, we are also learning more at this hour about the victims. the naval academ

brandon bostian met with ntsb investigators today. lawyers say he doesn't remember what happened. we're waiting to hear what the ntsb learned. >> the youngest victim of the crash was remembered today. the funeral for midshipman justin zemser was held on long island. he was honored with full military honors. he was a popular athlete at the united states naval academy in annapolis annapolis. he was going home when the train derailed. >> zemser was one of eight who died in the derailment. 200 more were hurt. almost two dozen remain in the hospital today. >> want to show you a live peck chur of-- picture of the sheraton society hill. waiting for that news conference to begin. >>> breaking news police are trying to figure out if someone threw a baby off a bridge in southwest philadelphia. sky force 10 over 68th and kin cessing. a woman says she saw a couple toss a baby off a bridge. she said the baby landed on the train. police searched the train and the path of the train and haven't found anything but want to be sure. >> hoping it wasn't

>> reporter: that's right, barbara, 32-year-old brandon bostian from kweepsqueens new york. that's the name of the train engineer who the ntsb wants a word with. before we get to, that i want to set the scene for what's going on in philadelphia right now. that's the crash site. we have workers on the tracks. this is their second full day in the sunshine out here trying to figure out what exactly went wrong. let's show you an overhead shot from the chopper of what the crash scene looks like. it's still a very wide crash scene here in philadelphia. a lot of work to be done a lot of details to figure out about what went wrong and a lot of heavy lifting to do here as there are plenty of crepes. now back to the engineer bostian. his attorney says he has no recollection of the incident whatsoever. we do know he hit the emergency brake right before the crash. of course the train was going 106 miles an hour in a zone where it should have been going 50 miles an hour. that's a serious problem. the ntsb telling msnbc earlier they want to talk to the engineer. >> we find that most trans

authorities have identified the engineer as 32-year-old brandon bostian.e told police he was not sure how fast he was going. investigators say he applied the emergency brakes just seconds before the train jumped the rails. police are in the process of getting a search warrant for his phone records to try to determine whether he was distracted at the time of that crash. >> former u.s. congressman pat wreck murphy was on board one of the seven cars that detailed and took graphic images from inside the train. tweeted out the photos, injured passengers and first responders inside his overturned car. >> murphy was not injured. but the person sitting next to him was knocked unconscious. the iraq veteran described his initial reaction after the crash. >> my legs, arms, they were there. so i popped up. and then wanted to take care of him. you know it was, it was -- even though amtrak, she was there, standing up, during the accident. she was, i could tell she was shooken up. and not in good shape. but even she was getting iced there for, for the injured people righ

brandon bostian is his name. he was cooperative. long before his train flew off the tracks at 106 miles an hour twice the speed limit, bostian apparently ranted online about the rail industry. he ripped on officials for not using tools to prevent this exact thing from happening. drew griffin is out front. >> there is no doubt brandon bostian was on his dream job. e was an engineer that took his job seriously and the safety of his passengers passionately. >> good engineer? >> great engineer. >> and it turns out a prolific writing engineer. brandon bostian appears to be a blogger posting comments on train safety dating years back and pushing on posts for the nation's railway system to do better. in response to a fatal crash in chatsworth california in which another engineer was texting, bostian who wasn't involved writes about the safety technology that would have prevented that crash and ironically his. at any point over the previous 80 years, he writes the railroad could have voluntarily implemented some form of this technology on th

really the biggest question right now surrounds this man, 32-year-old brandon bostian. he's the engineer who was at the controls of train number 188 when it rounded that bend and just flew off the tracks traveling twice as fast as it should have been there. but what exactly he was doing at the time remains a mystery today. right now authorities, including bostian's lawyer don't even seem to agree as to whether the engineer is cooperating with investigators. his lawyer says bostian spoke to police for hours, though he has a concussion and remembers next to nothing about the crash. but it's a different story from police officials, who tell cnn that bostian refused to answer questions. here's what we can confirm right now. the number of those lives lost, that has climbed now to eight after authorities this morning made a grisly discovery amid the wreckage. joining me now, i have cnn's erin mclaughlin. the mayor, i know of philadelphia he held a press conference a while ago. what exactly did he say about this engineer? >> reporter: he seemed to contradict the attorney as to

he is 32 years old and his name is brandon bostian. investigators will be interviewing him but they recognize he's been through a very traumatic experience as well and they want to give am day or so before they interview him. he has provided a blood sample to police. as we reported speed was a huge factor. the train was doing 106 miles per hour just before the engineer threw on the emergency brakes moments before all seven cars derailed. >> maximum authorized speed through this curve was 50 miles per hour. when the engineer induced brake application was applied, the train was traveling at approximately 106 miles per hour [ inaudible ] >> reporter: it's also important to note that that straight away right before the curve, the speed limit there is # 0 miles per hour. so -- 80 miles per hour so even before he got to the curve he was still going well over the speed limit. investigators will also be looking at black box and footage from a camera that's facing forward on that train. investigators had just looked at that section of the track

the engineer of the train is brandon bostian of queens new york. he is 32 years old. he got a job right out of college. earlier this morning a doctor at temple university hospital gave us an update on the injured passengers who were still recovering. 16 victims are still hospitalized at temple. eight are in critical condition. the doctor praised the work of his staff. >> very proud of the temple team that helped them get better. i think it's remarkable we had only one person that died from bad injuries. >> because of the trauma they suffered, some of the victims may need psychological counsel counselling at a later date. >> this mortgage we're waiting on officials to announce the identities of two of the unnamed victims that were killed. we know about the other five victims who have been identified. overnight we found out that among the dead is der regriffith. he's 42 years old and was the dean of student affairs at metger evers college. this morning officials at the college spoke about griffith. >> we are blessed for our time with him. our students have clearly been

let's stay on this engineer brandon bostian. we're hearing more from his friends and acquaintances, who have been speaking out since this deadly crash. earlier today, cnn heard from bostian's best friend james wier. he and bostian had previously discussed the difficulty of this particular route, the northeast corridor. just two hours after the crash, wier spoke to bostian in the hospital. >> he did not remember much. he couldn't remember much. he said he had some staples and some stitches and he was sore. he was in some pain. he was not at all sure of himself at that point. just as far as what was going on i think he was still in shock. you could tell he was in shock. he did tell me it was a challenging route. he told me that it's hard to stay on schedule all the time because he wants to make sure he takes the time to perform all of the safety requirements each and every trip. i don't think this is his fault. i don't believe it's his fault. brandon's not the kind of guy, even if he was going through a hard time he would not do th

the attorney for the engineer brandon bostian revealed what his client says happened. >> he remembers coming into the curve and remembers attempting to reduce speed and thereafter he was knocked out and thrown around just like all the other passengers. >> he says that bostian voluntarily turned over a blood sample and his cell phone. according to the attorney the engineer was injured in the crash including a concussion and injuries to his leg his linked in profile shows he has worked at amtrak for nine years and became a passenger engineer in 2010. >>> as we mentioned at the top of the hour and confirmed by mayor nutter, abc news has confirmed that an eighth person died after tuesday's train derail many. five of the victims are publically identified. jim drink from plainsboro, new jersey, and gilani was an executive and jeffrey dean and rachel jacobs left behind a husband and 2-year-old son and naval academy midshipman, zemser. >> he made each of us better. he was a great person. >> we are waiting to learn the names of the other victims. >> at least 34 people remain hospitalized after

bostian's dream job, it's a special situation for everyone involved. for the whole city of philadelphia that is reeling from this to brandon himself and his family and the unfortunate victims that lost their lives and been injured. >> sources tell me that it's believed that bostian has return to the new york area and investigators are in constant contact with his attorney. i'm chad pradelli channel 6 "action news." >> thank you. >>> we do know now that all the names of eight victim tonight. laura finamore, abid gilani and derek griffith justice zemser. several injured in the crash remain in the hospital tonight and ali gorman is live outside of temple university hospital with an update on that. >> and rick at last count 35 patients spread out among seven hospitals and 11 minutes remain here at temple if you look at the types of injuries and the severity of those injuries of those opinions, some had surgery and some are in critical condition and some may not even be aware of what happened. >> dozens of passengers injured on derailed train 188 are being cared for at local hospital at temple that includes eight in critical condition and patients are improv

we are learning more about the engineer brandon bostian. his attorney told night line he has absolutely no recollection of the accident or anything unusual. he's handed over a blood sample to the police. what's the latest on what happened? >> reporter: good morning. we're getting more details about amtrak 188. it left philadelphia tuesday night at 9:10:00 p.m. it approached the left turn behind me going at 106 miles per hour. that's more than twice the speed limit of 50 miles per hour. he applied the brakes. that brought it down to 102 miles per hour but the train still derailed. all seven cars off of the tracks. let's talk about the man at the center of the investigation. 32-year-old brandon bostian. he's been with amtrak nine years. his attorney says he doesn't remember anything after approaching that turn. he was thrown about the cab. he was bruised up. he picked up his bag and his phone. he says he called 9-1-1. he gave his bag and phone and a blood test of the authorities, but he has not taken to the ntsb. he has only spoken to the phi

cbs news has learned his name is brandon bostian. it shows the train was traveling at 106 miles per hour at a sharp curve when it should have only been going 50. >> there's no way he should have been going that fast. >> reporter: all seven went off the rails as it left the station tuesday night. seven were killed and over 100 were hurt. >> we plan to interview the engineer at the first tournament we can. we want to go back and look at the operation of the train. >> reporter: aside from looking at the actions of the engineer they're also taking a close look at the condition of the tracks at the derail site. they're also looking at forward facing cameras. it's the deadliest accident in 16 years. now some passengers are still unaccounted for. eight others remain in critical condition in the hospital. there's no word just yet when#9 000 people use that leg of the segment per day. alison? >> don champion philadelphia. thank you, don. >>> we've learned of the identities of five of the passengers killed on the train and the search for one m

let's put the focus on brandon bostian.n our last hour. >> we really just want to get his first-hand account of what he experienced. that is what we want to find out. we want to make sure we conduct our own interview and do it in a nonthreatening environment for him so he can tell us what he recalls. >> and now for the latest live in philadelphia near the crash site. what is the latest on the investigation? >> reporter: good morning. it's been a very busy scene here throughout the course of the evening and early hours of the morning. you can probably see over my shoulder an oversized flat bed truck has brought in a new set of tracks. they released a part of the track back to amtrak allowing to begin to lay new tracks in order to try to get traffic back up and going. they have a lot of work to do here. in terms of the investigation though, we have heard from ntsb officials saying they are looking at all possibilities. obviously speed is going to be a very important factor in why it was going so fast and how the train managed

the engineer of the train is 32-year-old brandon bostian. philadelphia police say detectives interviewed him, took a cell phone as well as a blood sample. however, the ntsb says it has not yet done an interview with bostian, saying it would like to saying he may need a day or two of rest. we are get something answers hour by hour. and in the next half hour we're going to try to get a better advantage point at the scene. as you mentioned, chris, the attorney for the engineer of this train, he did speak out yesterday. he says that his client has no recollection of the events leading up to this derailment. and would be out again in about 30 minutes. again, we're live here. >> we want to give people a better look at where the crash happened. it was heading north where it reached the juths. you can see the curve in the tracks there. that's where the speed drops from 80 miles an hour to 50. but as matt said the train was going more than 100 miles an hour when it ran off the tracks here. we also want to give you more insight on the two types of emp

>> the man at the center of the investigation, 32-year-old brandon bostian. he worked for amtrak for nine years. he was an engineer for four and a half. friends say he's a cheerful guy who loved his guy. his facebook page says he's in memphis but lives in new york. he lived in san francisco for a period of time. here's what the ntsb had to say about him. >> have we talked to the engineer? no but we plan to. this person has gone through a very traumatic event and we want to give him an opportunity to convalesce for a day or so before we interview him. >> reporter: he has given his phone and a glad sample to the authorities. he's spoken to the philadelphia police department but he still has not spoken to the ntsb. the head of the ntsb says that's a primary focus. they want to interview him. >> thank you so much. we appreciate your report. this morning we're also learning more about the victims of the derailment. among them derek griffith, the dean of students at medgar evers college. he was described inside a school press release as a quote pillar of the commun

did that cause engineer brandon bostian to lose focus all questions asked over the weekend. but on monday, according to the fbi, the amtrak train was not hit by a bullet. though investigators are still looking into what caused the crack. the same night the amtrak train crashed, about 3 miles away this septa train also took a hit to the windshield. septa police chief thomas nestell is monday a septa engineer saw someone on the track. >> the engineer saw a trespasser in the area of the track and shortly after that a bang on the window and the window spider webbed. >> reporter: nestell said the crack is not from a bullet but his team is working to find out what did strike the windshield. monday morning 30th street station was buzzing with business as amtrak opened up its line to the northeast for the first time since the accident. philadelphia mayor michael nutter was on hand to greet any anxious passengers. >> the system is say. it works. i take it all the time. and, you know, this is highly unusual. >> reporter: now a new safety measure in place. it's called automatic train c

ntsb investigators have questioned engineer brandon bostian yesterday. and what they learned opened up the possibility that something hit the amtrak train wfa moment. there's a new twist in this investigation. >> bostian and at least one other engineer reportth either distracted distracted. >> see. >> but project. >> rich: investigators say it may have been a -- just minutes before it sped into a curve and jumped a track in port richmond. 32 years old branton. he went through the north philadelphia stays stags. . may have said set horn. hoose gird and he did that. he recalled doing that. but he has no recollection of anything past that. >> and pass injuries from a thurd strit i guess ceo rash el jacobs in her the 39-year-old mother was the ceo of online line learning startup and preyesterday hundreds gathered on long island to mourn justin zemtser. opinion opinion. according to classmate he was his eye cool the agency had hoped to begin limited service at the start of the work week but now the schedule have. >> nbc 10 investigators have learned that amtr

the engineer, brandon bostian was interviewed friday for the first time since the deadly crash.n automatic braking system wasn't installed on the treach of rail where the in the dent occurred. the technology is to be in place by end of 2015. u.k. rails are operating a lower tech version of the automatic blakes. phil black explains how they work. >> reporter: west london, september 1997. a passenger train and freight train collide killing seven, injuring more than 100. two years later, another collision. involving a passenger train in london kills 31 people. these accidents refocused safety efforts on the british rail network. >> a matter of the will, really, from, from, the country as a hole. >> the chief of safety on britain's rail network says it led to a system now rolled out in high risk areas across the country. >> it was deemed the technology was available to overcome human error. >> reporter: called train protection warning system. the grids between the tracks are located in areas where speed is dangerous. ahead of curves, stations, signals. first, a warning alarm sound.

we could learn why from the train's engineer brandon bostian, very soon. he's expected to talk to the nets be in the next couple days. today is the funeral for navy midshipman justin zemser one of eight people killed in the derailment. we're learning an amtrak employee filed the first lawsuit in connection with that accident. right now, the wreckage is clear of the tracks in philadelphia and crews are repairing the damage done by the derailment because the rail corridor between d.c. and new york is the nation's busiest, officials are eager to get the track fixed and trains moving again. amtrak is running modified service between d.c. and philadelphia through monday. service between philadelphia and new york is expected to be suspended at least through monday. ♪ everybody wanna know why i sing the blues ♪ >>> people from all across the world are remembering music legend b.b. king. the blues icon died at his home in las vegas. king wrote unforgettable hits like "the thrill is gone." he was inducted into the rock 'n roll hall of fame and was awarded the presi

two conductors and the engineer. 32-year-old brandon bostian, officials say he was extremely cooperative with investigators. he had his lawyer with him, but they said that is normal in these kind of circumstances and he was very willing to talk. he said he'd be willing to talk with investigators again going forward. they also interviewed two conductors on board that train, a male and a female. an interesting note we got from this news conference is the female conductor on the train reports in the minutes before the crash she heard the amtrak engineer on the radio with a septa engineer on a separate train. the septa engineer telling over the radio that a projectile of some sort, maybe a rock, maybe a bullet, hit the windshield of that septa train in the minutes before the crash. she also reported the possibility that the amtrak train that derailed was also hit by some sort of projectile. not sure if we have a photo of the cracked windshield, but septa did release -- we do not have that photo yet, but septa did release a picture showing a cracked windshield on that septa train. meantime, t

he couldn't remember. >> brandon bostian spent time in the bay area as an engineer for cal train. >>> a little girl is dragged down the street by her school bus. she dragged about 100 feet. her backpack had apparently snagged in the closing doors of the bus. witnesses tried to chase down the bus, but an alert driver saved the day. the person in the red camaro sped by to stop the driver. >> the reason why that car was racing was to stop the bus because they had seen it. >> i couldn't believe that he drug her from that corner down to here without knowing it. >> the little girl said to be about five or six years old is going to be okay. she had scrapes and bruises but told witnesses the only thing she wanted was her mother. >>> well, another quick thinking driver saved the day in south carolina. check out this snapshot of a ten foot alligator strolling by while two small children watched mesmerized. someone saw the gator heading toward the kids and drove his car toward the gator to chase it away. talk about biting off more than you could chew. a man in australia had to take his pet pytho

also we are learning more about the man behind the controls and engineer brandon bostian. >> we want to start with the very latest from the the scene. >> "eyewitness news" reporter jan carabao joins us with the the latest, jan. >> reporter: erika and ukee, good morning we now necessity just how fast this train was traveling right before it the derailed. it was speeding down the tracks at more than twice the limit. big question this morning is why and how did this happen. investigators will remain on the scene here for days for a thorough investigation. take a look at the video. the we are getting a full scope of what has happened here at least seven people were killed and more than 200 injured when amtrak train 188 derailed here tuesday night. investigators work hard, nt. b says train was traveling at 106 miles per hour, coming into a sharp curve in the track. they say train's engineer applied emergency break moments before the derailment but that only slowed slightly to 102 miles an hour. limit here is just 50. now the train's black box and front mounted camera have been recovered,

. >> a lawyer for the train engineer brandon bostian told nbc news that his client has no recollection of the crash. he said that he suffered a concussion and he said that he expects the client's memory to improve, and he said that he is not under the influence of drugs or alcohol, and he has provided a blood sample to the investigators. >>> and there is a eighth vicktim identified. >> bob gildersleeve is a exec executive and his family went to philadelphia to get answers. >> shomari stone joins us live now from philadelphia. what have you learned? >> well first, the ntsb is expected to have a news conference any moment now updating us on the investigation. meanwhile, bob gildersleeve says that his son was a good husband and father, and hard worker, and somebody that is the type of person that you wanted to hang out with. this afternoon, there is some video that his father spoke with the medical examiner's office at downtown philadelphia. after he walked out of the building, he wiped his eyes with kleenex, and distraught and he understandably did not want to talk in a sad state of mind

including the engineer identified at 32-year-old brandon bostian of queens new york. he went to the area generally and has in recollection of the incident or anything unusual. >> preliminary information shows the train was going 106 miles per hour seconds before it derailed and the speed limit on the curve here is just 50 miles per hour. >> we know that there are at least 40 people who are still in area hospitals and the death toll remains at seven people and several still missing the search area has been expanded. >> as we mentioned, the knowing of the derailed amtrak train has local ties. once separated trains here in the bay area. officials say that brandon bostian ran their trains before eleven and he still work for amtrak but caltrain contracted out train engineers at that time. during that time he lived in san francisco. he has a picture of him in friend of the ferry building on my space. we will have morning on the bay area connection at the top of the hour. >> a high profile political consultant is in a san francisco jail this morning at $400,000 bail in a chi

the engineer is named brandon bostian. he was a contract engineer for caltrain in the bay area in 2010 and 2011. the ntsb says the train was going 106 miles per hour when it should have been going only 50. >> there's no way in the world that he should have been going that fast. >> we plan to interview the engineer at the first opportunity that we can. we want to go back and look at the operation of the train. >> crews are now using heavy machinery to remove the wreckage. police in philadelphia say boston bostian refused to give a statement without a lawyer. >>> a bill is up in the state senate that already cleared several legislative committees. kiet do is in san jose with more on what the bill would do. >> reporter: the vaccination mandate bill cleared a hurdle and it could be voted on today. antivaccination parents have flooded the capital in recent weeks and they say that this latest move is cheating the law making system. the authors of senate bill 277 amended it so that it won't cost anything. they got rid of the port

brandon bostian was an amtrak employee at the time to drive cal train before 2011. in queens new york. here are new details on last night's crash. bostian's linked in profile indicates he's worked at amtrak nine years help ss le he declined to provide testimony to police. abc news reporter karen traverse has the late jeeft investigatorest. >> investigators are sifted through mangled metal and debris. data shows the train was traveling 106 miles per hour before it derailed, more than twice the speed limit for that part of the track. >> just moments before the derailment the train was placed into engineer induced braking, and this means that the engineer applied full emergency brake application. >> reporter: the engineer is identified as 32-year-old brandon bostian of queens new york. all seven cars plus the engine broke off the track. >> like a bang. >> the trains tilted over and rolled. >> reporter: amtrak say there's were 238 passengers and 5 crew members on board the train. seven confirmed fatalities including a 20-year-old, midshipman at the u.s. naval academy in

you know -- we're learning more about the train engineer, brandon bostian from queens. [ no audio ] way too fast at the time of this crash. 106 miles an hour in a section of track that should have been only been 50 mile an hour. so we have to learn more about what was happening at that time. investigators certainly want to talk to him. he has made a statement with the police. but he needs to talk to the ntsb -- his attorney says he has no recollection of what happened there. but we do know he hit the emergency brake right before the crash. in the next few days the ntsb is going to be interviewing the crew. they'll be doing a detailed analysis of the recorders, testing the signal systems. they'll check the system, the rail, everything they're looking at there. we have heard from the p.a. task force who is here doing a rescue and recovery operation. don't forget, there are still people who are unaccounted for. in this area. so there are dogs that are going through this area to help the p.a. task force figure out what they can get in touch with here. they'll be in there looking for that. s