(The Associated Press circulated the following story on March 29.)
SYRACUSE, N.Y. — A state judge has ruled that Amtrak and Conrail destroyed dispatcher’s records from a 1991 train accident outside Syracuse that injured two boys, including one who suffered permanent injuries.
The ruling in state Supreme Court in January is part of a lawsuit brought by Brad Hulett and Richard Rowe Junior.
Hulett was 12 and Rowe was 15 when they were struck by an Amtrak train. Hulett was knocked into a slow-moving Conrail freight train. He fractured his skull and doctors had to remove part of his brain.
The judge ruled that Amtrak and Conrail destroyed records pertaining to the incident.
Lawyers for the two boys accused the railroad companies of covering up evidence to hide their negligence. The railroads contend the boys were trespassing and caused their own injuries.
The 20 (m) million dollar lawsuit is expected to go to trial in October.