Anatomy of a derailment
A 17 year old kid derailed a train for a YouTube video…
…or did he?
queue the VSauce music
Background
On April 21st, 2024, around 18:10 in Bennett, NE, a BNSF cargo train carrying coal went onto the wrong track, hit an empty coal car, and derailed. Luckily, noone was injured, although the train conductor was probably shaken. The damage is estimated to be around 350,000 US dollars.
A 17 year old railfan nearby recorded the incident, and also uploaded the footage to YouTube on April 23rd. He also provided the footage to authorities, and sent it to a local news station.
Months later, he was charged with intentionally derailing a train. If convicted, he could go to prison for a long time.
Some facts about the case
As of writing, these are the basic facts that I think we can all agree on:
- A faulty coal car was placed on a RIP (Repair In Place) track, supposedly the day before the incident.
- Some time before the incident, the kid was recorded on CCTV going to and from the area around the switch, that toggled between the main and the RIP track.
- The kid also set up a camera pointing to the junction, 4 minutes before the incident.
- Because the switch was set incorrectly, the train went onto the RIP track, and hit the empty coal car.
- The driver is lucky to be alive and uninjured.
- After the incident, the kid immediately noted that “a switch was set wrong”.
- According to the investigators on the scene, the kid knew where the switch was and “how it worked”.
- The kid showed the footage of the incident to the investigators, and also sent it to a local news station.
- He has been charged in juvenile court, but the case could be moved to adult court.
Why was that coal car there?
If we can believe the kid, the day before the accident, around 7pm, the train car had to be taken out for repair. The train crew placed it on a RIP (Repair In Place) track, but maybe they forgot to flip the switch back.
Now, if you think about it, if you need to take out a faulty car, here’s the game of musical trains you have to play:
- Stop before the switch and flip it
- Go onto the RIP track, stop shortly before the faulty car
- Disconnect the car after the faulty car
- Move forward until the entire faulty car is on the RIP track
- Disconnect the faulty car
- Leave the RIP track forward
- Flip both switches back, so that you go on the main track
- Reverse until you can reconnect the entire train
If you think about it, there’s no way the switch could be left accidentally in the wrong position. Otherwise, how would you put the train back together? That is, unless, the faulty car is the last one. In that case, the procedure is:
- Stop before the switch and flip it
- Go all the way onto the RIP track, stop once the faulty car is on
- Disconnect the faulty car and leave
- Flip back the switches (important!)
As you can see, this procedure is much simpler, but also more prone to human error, as you have to remember to flip back the switches. And if you’re a tired, overworked, and underpaid train driver, that might be something you forget.
In this case, it would also make sense that the very next train would suffer an accident. I don’t know for sure, but 1 train per day on a line that seems lightly travelled makes sense.
So, is the kid guilty?
Honestly, I don’t know.
All the people I’ve heard talk about this case on YouTube seem pretty convinced that this is an open and shut case. While these people emphasize that he deserves the presumption of innocence, they also think that the kid is “obviously” guilty.
To me, this isn’t so obvious, so I’d like to play devil’s advocate for a little bit, and make the best argument for either side. I’ll let you decide which one you believe the most.
In the end, I also want to point out a bunch of caveats regarding the available information (which is unfortunately rather limited, and has questionable accuracy).
Best argument for the kid being guilty
- Video surveillance recorded him being in the area around the switch, shortly before the accident.
- The switch wasn’t locked, which according to investigators means it has been tampered with.
- He was at the scene, exactly at the right spot to record the events.
- Afer the crash, he immediately concluded that “a switch was set wrong”.
- Investigators noted that he knew where the switch was and how it worked.
- He uploaded the video onto YouTube immediately, most likely for fame.
Best argument for the kid being innocent
- If the switch was padlocked, how was it switched? There’s no indication he had a key, or a lockpick, or any tool for removing a lock.
- Why would the absence of a lock indicate tampering? Wouldn’t it be more likely that someone forgot to lock it - and consequently, switch it back?
- He wasn’t exactly in an ideal place to record a crash. He had to zoom into the top right corner to show the crash properly. Surely there would’ve been a better place to record a crash if he knew it was happening.
- The location isn’t exactly a surprising place for railfans. It’s a level crossing, a common filming location, as train drivers will usually use the horn to warn any drivers nearby (and railfans do love them horns).
- How much does he really know about railway switches? It could be anywhere from “the expert” to “I saw it in the trolley problem”. Not to mention you’d definitely expect a railfan to be knowledgeable about switches.
- It’s not surprising he knew where the switch was. It’s gonna be next to a junction. Also, he’s a railfan, it’d be more suspicious if he didn’t know
- If you think about it, the cause of the crash is rather obvious. A train going onto the wrong track can only be caused by a switch being in the wrong position. This would be even more obvious if you were to witness the events.
- There are plenty of videos where trains get derailed, meaning you would get very little fame for filming such a thing. In fact, just 1 year ago the same kid recorded another train derailment, though that video is rather shaky and from even further away.
Remaining questions
There are plenty of things I’d love to know, which could more or less settle this matter.
- Was the other switch on the RIP track flipped? If so, it makes it much more likely that it wasn’t switched back.
- Did other trains use the track after the coal car was placed onto the RIP track? Because if not, it’s much more likely the switch was tampered with.
- Was the switch locked after it was last used? If so, how was it switched? Did the kid have a key, or a lockpick?
- If the switch wasn’t locked, why? Did someone forget to lock it again?
- How much time did the kid spend near the switch? Was it enough time to flip the switch, or if it was locked, to remove/pick the lock?
Sadly, I haven’t been able to find much information on this matter. And I don’t even know how much I can trust what I find. For example, some sources day the crash happened on April 21, while others say April 22. I’d also love to see the search warrant request sent to the court, which contains a lot of information about what exactly happened, but I’ve been unable to find it.
Conclusion
I’ve seen many videos about this incident, and so many people going after the kid, attacking and insulting him. To those people I’d like to say this: he has been charged, and a court will determine whether he’s guilty or innocent, and how much punishment he deserves. He’s facing serious prison time, and if you have any faith in the justice system, you should trust that the truth will come out, and that the punishment will be fair.
So if you’re the type of person that wants to go after this kid, let me make something crystal clear. There are 2 possibilities:
- He is guilty, and seeking attention, and you’re giving it to him.
- He is innocent, and you’re harassing a minor.
Either way, the best thing to do is to leave this kid the fuck alone.
Sources
Teenager Accused of Derailing Train and Posting Crash Video on YouTube - The New York Times
Nebraska teen accused of derailing train, recording the crash and posting it online - NBC News
BNSF notification about the derailment
Video from penguinz0 about the derailment - YouTube