Deadly Amtrak 188 derailment in Philly: 10 years later

Mangled train cars marked the spot where 10 years ago Monday a speeding Amtrak train derailed on a curve in Philadelphia's Port Richmond section, leaving eight people dead and more than 200 hurt.

The deadly May 12, 2015, highspeed derailment of Amtrak train 188 in Philadelphia put a spotlight on rail safety and led to years of litigation.

The train rounded a curve in Port Richmond, at 106 mph -- more than twice the speed limit on that section of track, the Federal Railroad Administration said.

The train derailed, sending the locomotive and seven rail cars off the tracks, federal investigators said. Eight were killed and more than 200 were hurt.

Federal investigators found that the engineer – Brandon Bostian – was distracted by radio chatter about another train being struck by an object and that engineer being struck by glass.

“The radio communications about that emergency, in which the Amtrak engineer participated and listened, lasted six minutes and, preceded the derailment by less than one minute,” the FRA concluded.

“Investigators determined the Amtrak engineer became distracted by the emergency involving the commuter train and lost situational awareness as to where his train was located in relation to the curve with the 50 mph speed restriction,” the FRA said. “The acceleration past 100 mph before entering the curve where the derailment occurred was consistent with a belief that his train had already passed the curve into an area of relatively straight track where the authorized speed was 110 mph.”

The section of track, where the crash happened wasn't equipped with technology that automatically slows down speeding trains.

Back in 2022, a jury cleared the Amtrak engineer of all charges, concluding that his operation of the train at more than twice the speed limit on a curve didn't constitute criminal negligence.

The jury took just over an hour to acquit Bostian of causing a catastrophe, involuntary manslaughter and reckless endangerment — one count for each injury and death. Amtrak had earlier settled civil litigation over the crash for $265 million.

The crash led Congress to raise the previous $200 million limit on settlements for individual Amtrak crashes to $295 million.

Survivor shares her story

Geralyn Ritter does not take her life for granted.

"I'm doing well today, but it's hard. That anniversary on May 12 every year is heavy for me and I've tried to make it a day of celebration. Celebrating what we have and gratitude and the gift that my family and I were given. But, I always find it difficult, Ritter told NBC10's Johnny Archer.

She was riding in the first car that derailed in 2015 when the Amtrak train derailed in the Port Richmond section of Philadelphia.

"I started to feel us going around a curve and I'm standing in the isle and I'm bracing myself on the luggage rack and I remember feeling like the train was tipping, but thinking, 'it can't be tipping because trains don’t tip.' And I remember a flash of, 'we are actually tipping.' I remember hearing screams, my own scream and that’s my last memory for days," she described.

Ritter woke up at Penn Presbyterian Hospital days later with a broken pelvis, ribs and four vertebrae. Her stomach was near her heart and her spleen was destroyed. The list of her injuries goes on and on.

Ritter credits first responders for saving her life.

"I will be forever grateful. I still don’t know who found me. I wish from all my heart that I can thank the first responders that night who found me," she said.

Ritter told NBC10 that she is just thankful that she can spend time with her family after years of trauma and pain. She is now fully recovered from the incident that nearly took her life.

"Today I am okay. 10 years is a big milestone and in some ways I am very proud where I am 10 years on, but the day still makes me incredibly sad. This accident should not have happened. I think this day will always make me sad," Ritter said.

Ritter went on to write a book called Bone by Bone which talks about healing from trauma and, she said, she hopes her story can help others. She said all proceeds from the sale of the book go to the American Trauma Society.