PUEBLO COUNTY — The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has released its investigation findings, confirming what it initially identified as the cause of a deadly train derailment in Pueblo County in 2023.
On Sunday, October 15, travel between Colorado Springs and Pueblo and the greater I-25 corridor was brought to a stand still after 30 coal cars derailed. The accident shut I-25 down for about four days as crews from the state, and various counties, worked to clear the debris and train cars from the road.
The derailment killed 60-year-old Lafollette Henderson, a truck driver who hailed from Compton, California. All staff and crew on board the train were safe.
WATCH: One dead as train derails onto I-25 north of Pueblo
New documents on the investigation appear to confirm that the source of the derailment comes from a possible broken rail line near a track switch just before the bridge. This confirms what the NTSB had released as the cause of their derailment in their preliminary investigation report released on October 30, 2023.
Based on the Operations Factual Report, the NTSB was able to identify two images where a potential broken track could be identified.
The two images above, show what the National Transportation Safety Board believes was the cause of the crash. Based on camera reviews done on two BNSF onboard cameras, these reviews were done during the three days following the accident. Both images show the possible broken track at the railroad switch just east of the bridge over I-25.
In the months following the accident, the NTSB conducted significant materials testing on the pieces of the rail recovered from the accident. Based on the Materials Lab Factual Report, it was determined that a fracture of the rail occurred near the heat-affected zone near a thermite weld. NTSB Materials Research Engineer Erik Mueller said in his report, "This fracture was due to a fatigue crack that initiated from at the boundary between the rail base and weld flash that solidified underneath the part. The fatigue crack propagated into the rail base until the applied stresses in this area exceeded the tensile strength of the rail, leading to overstress fracture."
You can read the Material Lab Factual Report below.
Click here for all of the NTSB investigative documents regarding this deadly derailment.
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