(Albuquerque television station KRQE posted the following report on its website on February 24.)
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Investigators have found the two black boxes which may contain the data needed to learn why two Union Pacific trains collided over the weekend in Carrizozo, killing two crewmen.
The National Transportation Safety Board says they are now looking at the “Event Readers” inside those boxes.
The crash on Saturday morning killed the engineer, 57-year-old A.C. Rodella, and the conductor 32-year-old J.S. Bohler, both of El Paso. Preliminary indications are that one of the trains side-swiped the other as they passed each other.
Crews worked through the night to clear up the 22 derailed cars the crash left behind, and now have train traffic running through the area again.
Investigators say if the black boxes don’t provide answers it could be up to a year before the cause of the crash is known.