Train engineer who caused the Hoboken crash gets his job back at NJT

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The engineer who was operating an NJ Transit train that crashed in Hoboken Terminal in September 2016, killing a woman walking through the station and injuring 108, will return to work after winning an appeal.

Thomas Gallagher, who blacked out at the controls on Sept. 29, 2016, due to undiagnosed sleep apnea, won his arbitration case on Aug. 28 and will be reinstated as an engineer, as long as he meets medical conditions and continues sleep apnea treatment. He was suspended and subsequently fired after the crash, a decision that he appealed.

The crash occurred as his Pascack Valley Line train was approaching the end of the trip, arriving in Hoboken Terminal. The train sped up to 21 mph, twice the posted speed limit, crashed through a concrete bumper at the end of track five and into the station. Gallagher was found unconscious in the cab of the train and told investigators he had no recollection of the crash.

A pedestrian in the station, Fabiola Bittar de Kroon, 34, of Hoboken, was killed by falling debris from a collapsed canopy.

“To be clear, the claimant’s return to work is on a one-time, last chance basis, contingent upon his compliance with the terms and conditions of this award,” the board said in a copy of the decision obtained by NJ Advance Media.

Gallagher will resume his duties working in train yards, but will not be in passenger service, the board ruled. While he isn’t banned from operating trains with passengers on board, arbitrators left that decision up to NJ Transit. Agency officials must be satisfied Gallagher has “demonstrated strict compliance with the conditions of his reinstatement.”

“While NJ Transit opposed the reinstatement of Mr. Gallagher, we are required to comply with the legal decision made by the arbitrator. Under provisions clearly defined in that decision, NJ TRANSIT can and will restrict his duty to non-passenger trains,” said Nancy Snyder, a spokeswoman. “The decision lays out rigorous testing and compliance that Mr. Gallagher must adhere to including training and re-certification for operating a locomotive as well as strict medical oversight.”

NJ Transit will be strictly enforcing compliance in all of these areas, she said.

Gallagher was suspended and later fired by NJ Transit on March 13, 2018, for failing to control his train, speeding and failing to stop for a red signal at the end of the tracks. As discipline for those rule violations, Gallagher will not receive back pay for the time he was suspended, which will be considered a long-term suspension, the board decided.

While the arbitration board agreed that Gallagher violated the rules, they found that his undiagnosed sleep apnea was a mitigating factor, noting that he passed a medical screening in July 2016.

The National Transportation Safety Board ruled that Gallagher’s undiagnosed sleep apnea was the cause of the crash. The NTSB released documents in September 2017 about his undiagnosed sleep disorder, but investigators could not find evidence in his 2016 medical records that the engineer was tested for sleep apnea.

“This Claimant (Gallagher) was medically cleared less than three months before the incident. However, there is no evidence on the record before us that the physician conducted Obstructive Sleep Apnea screening in accordance with the Carrier’s (NJ Transit) guidelines,” the board determined.

The NTSB also ruled that NJ Transit failed to adequately screen and treat employees for sleep apnea and the Federal Railroad Administration refused to impose rules requiring such testing were also factors in the crash.

During the proceeding, Gallagher accepted “full responsibility for his part in the accident” and apologized, documents said.

After the crash, NJ Transit required mandatory sleep disorder testing for engineers and conductors, and had tested all engineers by October 2016. Those found to have sleep apnea were removed from duty until they received treatment.

NJ Transit also mandated a conductor ride in the cab with the engineer as a safety precaution when trains are approaching terminals and speed limits were reduced to 5 mph at the Hoboken and Atlantic City Terminals. Inward and outward cameras have been installed in train cabs.

https://www.nj.com/traffic/2019/09/engineer-with-sleep-apnea-who-caused-fatal-hoboken-train-crash-gets-his-job-back.html