SEPTA trolley crash into historic building due to brakes that were ‘rendered inoperable'

A preliminary investigation report by the National Transportation Safety Board into a SEPTA trolley that crashed into the historic Blue Bell Inn reveals that the maintenance technician driving the trolley was unable to apply the air brakes and stop.

The crash happened on July 27 just before 10:30 p.m. at the intersection of Island and Woodland Avenues in Philadelphia.

The slow-moving trolley crashed into an SUV and then into the historic Blue Bell Inn.

The maintenance technician was driving the trolley from SEPTA's Elmwood facility to the adjoining yard for temporary storage at the time of the incident.

Before the crash that day, the trolley was undergoing repairs and getting an air compressor replacement that took multiple technicians on varying shifts to complete.

In order to do the replacement, workers had to turn off the trolley's air brakes while it was in the maintenance facility.

Once the repairs were completed, a technician was told to prepare the trolley to be moved into the storage yard.

That technician later told NTSB investigators that there had been no communication about how the brakes had been "rendered inoperable," or turned off and not working, at the beginning of the day. Because of this, he did not know to turn the brakes back on before the trolley left the facility.

The trolley then failed to stop while going downhill and derailed before crashing.

The technician was able to jump out of the trolley before the derailment and was hurt with minor injuries. Two of the four passengers in the SUV were taken to a nearby hospital with minor injuries.

SEPTA estimates $500,000 in damage to its equipment while the Blue Bell Inn is expected to have sustained $300,000 in damage.

The National Transportation Safety Board’s investigation is ongoing at this time.