NTSB Says Trains not Speeding Before Oklahoma Wreck

The National Transportation Safety Board says trains that collided head-on last month in the Oklahoma Panhandle weren’t speeding at the time of the wreck.

Three Union Pacific employees died in the June 24 accident near Goodwell. Another worker jumped to safety.

A preliminary NTSB report said an eastbound train was traveling at 64 mph at the time of the crash and that a westbound train was traveling at 38 mph. The speed limit in the area is 70 mph.

Data couldn’t be recovered from the lead locomotives, but the NTSB says it retrieved recorders from engines helping to push the trains. The agency said it is checking the data to see whether train operators were receiving signals properly.

Damage was estimated at nearly $15 million.