PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — The operator of the SEPTA trolley that crashed into the Blue Bell Inn last month never knew the brakes had been disabled, according to initial findings released Monday by the National Transportation Safety Board.
A preliminary NTSB report on the crash said that over the span of several shifts on July 27, SEPTA crews worked to replace an air compressor on Trolley 9107. The trolley’s air brakes were disabled during the work.
The report said just before 10:30 that night, a maintenance technician was moving the trolley from the Elmwood maintenance facility to a yard nearby. When he tried to stop the trolley from rolling downhill along Island Avenue, the air brakes didn’t function. The tech jumped out before the trolley rammed an SUV and struck the historic Blue Bell Inn at Island and Woodland avenues.
The technician told the NTSB there was no tag or note telling him the trolley’s brakes had been rendered inoperable. Damages were estimated to be $500,000 to the SEPTA equipment and $300,000 to the inn.
It was one of eight recent crashes involving SEPTA vehicles, prompting a safety review by the Federal Transit Administration.
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In an interview Monday before the NTSB report was issued, SEPTA Chief Operating Officer Scott Sauer said it was too early to say what actions the FTA may recommend.
“What the FTA will want to look at first is to take a look at the things that we’re doing, the things that we say we do and then kind of measure the two together,” he said.
The NTSB says its continuing probe into the July 27 trolley crash will focus on SEPTA’s repair and maintenance practices, as well as training and supervision.
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