Safety board says possible sleep disorder may have contributed to Boston train crash

By Mike M. Ahlers
CNN

WASHINGTON - A Boston trolley operator killed in a crash last year likely had a sleep disorder and fell into a "micro-sleep" shortly before the collision, the National Transportation Safety Board ruled Tuesday.

The safety board, completing a 14-month investigation, faulted operator Ter'rese Edmonds for ignoring a red signal along the tracks, but directed harsh criticism at the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, operators of the train system.  The transit authority failed to screen operators for sleep disorders while enforcing a work schedule that could prevent train operators from getting enough sleep, the NTSB said.

The board also noted that the MBTA had not installed systems on its Green Line to prevent two trains from occupying the same stretch of track, the NTSB said.

The systems - known as "positive train control" systems - would have prevented the accident, the safety board said.