(CNN)One of three conductors aboard the Amtrak train that derailed in Philadelphia this week told investigators she heard the locomotive's engineer say the train had been struck by an object, National Transportation Safety Board member Robert Sumwalt said Friday.
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"She recalled that the SEPTA engineer had reported to the train dispatcher that he had either been hit by a rock or shot at, and the SEPTA engineer said that he had a broken windshield, and he placed his train into emergency stop," Sumwalt said. "She also believed that she heard (the Amtrak) engineer say something about his train being struck by something."
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The locomotive's windshield was shattered in the derailment. But Sumwalt said there is "particular damage" to the lower portion of the windshield that the FBI will examine. He described it as a "circular pattern that emanates out just a bit."
Oh, drat that lede. Okay: a train crashed outside of Philadelphia, eight people were killed. Right before it derailed it accelerated for some reason to 106 mph. Terrible tragedy, truly awful.
What does a fucking rock cracking the windshield have to do with the crash? Who cares about the goddamned windshield? This has been the lede on this story for two days! Nobody has explained what the theory of causation is between rock and derailment. We have a "rock of interest." Why are we interested in a rock?
