(The following article by Tony Lystra was posted on the Longview Daily News website on June 7.)
LONGVIEW, Wash. — The National Transportation Safety Board is not expected to determine the cause of a 2003 train wreck near Carrolls Bluff until fall, a spokeswoman for the federal agency said this week.
The Nov. 15, 2003, crash, between Union Pacific train and a Burlington Northern Sante Fe train, injured two crewmen, derailed more than 20 freight cars and closed two lanes of Interstate 5 for several hours.
The NTSB had expected to release its report on the incident this spring, but on Thursday, spokeswoman Lauren Peduzzi said that investigators were still drafting the document.
Such investigations often take 18 months to complete, she said, and include recommendations for avoiding future mishaps.
“We do feel it’s very important to examine all the facts, do all the appropriate testing,” Peduzzi said. “If you don’t identify the correct safety issues, you don’t fix anything.”
The 2003 wreck happened in almost the same location — and almost ten years to the day — after BNSF and UP locomotives slammed head-on, killing five crewmen.