Nebraska teen accused of causing train derailment for YouTube video
A Nebraska teenager has been accused of forcing a train to derail so he could record the incident and share it on YouTube, according to court records.
The 17-year-old, who was not named, was charged with two felony counts of criminal mischief in Lancaster County Juvenile Court, but prosecutors have already filed a motion to have the case transferred to adult court, NBC News reported.
According to an investigation carried out by BNSF Railway, the teen tampered with a railroad switch, causing two locomotives and five loaded BNSF cars to veer off the tracks near Bennet on April 21.
While the trains did not flip over, one of them crashed into an empty coal car, resulting in more than $350,000 in damage, per court documents.
Just before the crash, the conductor said he attempted to make an emergency stop but ran out of time before he could do so.
He told investigators a misaligned switch, at a crossing near Monroe and Juniper streets, caused the crash. He noted that a padlock for the switch had also been missing, indicating it had been tampered with.
The teen, described in court documents as a train enthusiast, was the one who alerted authorities to the incident and was still on the scene when they arrived.
He approached the investigator and asked what caused the crash. When the investigator said he didn’t know, the suspect allegedly said, “obviously a switch was flipped the wrong way,” according to a warrant obtained by KOLN.
The teen also showed the investigator the video he took, but denied trespassing in the area and tampering with the switch. He was allegedly spotted setting up his camera and tripod near the crossing just four minutes before the train derailed, investigators said.
“In the days following the derailment, a video of the derailment was posted to YouTube account ZUnit06, which is believed be associated with (the teen),” an investigator wrote in the document. “This account features numerous videos of trains filmed in Bennet, NE and other locations in Lancaster County, NE.”
BNSF Railway operates trains on the rail to supply coal to a power plant in Nebraska City.