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A 17-year-old Nebraska boy has been charged with causing a train derailment earlier this year that caused thousands of dollars in damage.
The derailment took place shortly after 6 p.m. on April 21 when a fully-loaded coal train derailed near a crossing in Bennet, the Nebraska Television Network reported.
The teenager is charged with two counts of criminal mischief in juvenile court, but prosecutors have filed to move the case to adult court. The teen was also seen setting up a tripod and filming the derailment, and the video was later posted to a YouTube channel believed to be connected with him.
A BNSF Railway Police investigator said in an affidavit that two locomotives and five rail cars derailed but remained upright. The locomotives also hit an empty coal car parked on a siding.
The affidavit said the derailment caused about $200,000 in damages to the locomotives and other railroad property and more than $150,000 in damages to Omaha Public Power District property. The track where the derailment took place is owned by OPPD and used by the railroad to supply coal to a plant in Nebraska City.
The investigators said he was told by the train’s conductor that the train was eastbound approaching the crossing when he saw that a switch was misaligned, but he was unable to stop the train before it went through the switch and veered onto another track next to a grain elevator. The investigator inspected the switch and found it’s lock was missing.
The investigators wrote that a 17-year-old showed up on scene, described himself as a “railroad enthusiast,” and began asking questions about the derailment and said he had video of the derailment on his cell phone, according to KLKN.
BNSF later secured security footage from a nearby coop store, which showed a beige 1996 Buick Park Avenue in the area, before the same teen was seen walking toward the switch that was tampered with, which was out of view of the camera. The teen was seen running back to his vehicle and then driving it nearby, where he parked and set up a tripod.
The derailment took place minutes later.
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[Featured image: KOLN screenshot]
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