BLOOMINGTON, Md. — CSX Transportation has agreed to pay $4.7 million to the family of a 15-year-old boy who was killed by a freight train as he slept on his living room couch, according to a wire service.
The 80-car CSX coal train jumped the tracks at close to 60 mph and slammed into the home of Eddie L. Rogers Jr. in 2000. Each car carried more than 100 tons of coal, and the teen-ager suffocated under the coal.
A report by the National Transportation Safety Board released in March said the train’s braking systems had failed. The findings spurred the NTSB to recommend railroads fix similar brake problems nationwide and recalculate track speed limits.
The settlement was reached Friday.
“We take responsibility for the accident and believe this is the right thing to do,” CSX spokeswoman Kathy Burns said.