NTSB blames distracted engineer for deadly Amtrak wreck

WASHINGTON (AP) — The speeding Amtrak train that crashed in Philadelphia last year, killing eight people, most likely ran off the rails because the engineer was distracted by word of a nearby commuter train getting hit by a rock, federal investigators concluded today.

The National Transportation Safety Board also put some of the blame on the railroad industry's decades-long delay in installing Positive Train Control, equipment that can automatically slow trains that are going over the speed limit.

Engineer Brandon Bostian was apparently so focused on the rock-throwing he heard about over the radio that he lost track of where he was and accelerated full-throttle to 106 mph as he went into a sharp curve with a 50 mph limit, investigators said at an NTSB hearing convened to pinpoint the cause of the May 12, 2015, tragedy. About 200 people aboard the Washington-to-New York train were injured.

"He went, in a matter of seconds, from distraction to disaster," NTSB member Robert Sumwalt said.

Bostian, who has been suspended without pay since the crash for speeding, did not attend the hearing. He and his lawyer did not immediately return calls and emails seeking comment.