MBTA employee involved in Green Line derailment says agency threw her ‘under the bus’

The operator of the Green Line trolley that derailed near Lechmere Station last October sending seven riders to the hospital says she doesn t like how the MBTA threw her under the bus for causing the crash Transcript records from the National Transportation Safety Board reveal that trolley operator Daisha Fauntleroy stated leaders just days after the Oct development that she considered the MBTA instilled a way of life in which employees were fearful of speaking out MBTA Chief Operating Officer Ryan Coholan advised reporters hours after the derailment in Cambridge that investigators were focusing on human factors with preliminary findings ruling out problems with the track structure What I didn t like or what I don t like about the whole situation Fauntleroy communicated leaders during an Oct interview is how I m an employee for the MBTA and they just publicly put the blame on me first without checking their equipment or checking the rails or anything like that I feel like this contributes to a society where operators or employees don t want to say that this is wrong she added If it is my fault it is my fault but like they just publicly throw us under the bus is how I feel without checking Federal investigators exposed that the trolley was traveling mph in a -mph zone About passengers and crew members were on board as it left Lechmere and headed east along the Green Line Less than a minute later the train derailed sending seven riders to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries According to a safety board statement Fauntleroy drove through a red stop signal and the railroad switch that redirects trolleys to Union Square in Somerville was still realigning causing the train to derail Fauntleroy mentioned she was traveling at a regular speed out of the station but then she instantly derailed She revealed she didn t recall any mechanical issues with the trolley nor what speed she had been traveling Later in the interview according to transcript records published this week Fauntleroy argued that she felt there was not enough time to reduce the train to the appropriate speed from mph to mph When required whether there was a supervisor to whom she could have alerted her concerns about the speed change Fauntleroy responded You can I guess you could let a supervisor know but I have never did it An operator who was trailing Fauntleroy opening and closing doors and assisting passengers in the back explained investigators he felt there was enough time to reduce to the mph speed limit Yes a hundred percent yes the operator Mark Turner commented The MBTA has disclosed that Fauntleroy is no longer employed The safety of MBTA riders and employees is of paramount importance the agency stated in a declaration The MBTA has been working aggressively to install the Green Line Train Protection System while stepping up its focus on compliance with operating rules including adherence to posted speed limits