oncoming Super Continental. Both lead locomotives were destroyed, killing their crews. The front cars and freight wagons derailed. Diesel fuel from the locomotives ignited, engulfing them, the baggage car, and the day coach in flames; 18 of the day coach's 36 occupants died. Due to momentum, the cars on the freight train piled up on each other resulting in a large pile of debris. All three freight locomotives followed by 76 hoppers and tank cars were either destroyed or severely damaged. On the passenger train, one coach was crushed by a freight car after it was thrown into the air by the force of the collision, killing one of its occupants. In the dome car, others were able to escape either through a window in the dome that had been broken by passengers, or through the hole left by the freight car. The two sleepers following the dome car jackknifed into each other and were thrown on their sides causing injuries but no deaths. The mid train locomotive (6300) was severely damaged (It was repaired with a new cab section from a KCS EMD F7).) The last three passenger cars at the rear of the train did not derail, but there were many injuries. After the rear of the freight train came to a halt, Conductor Smith, still in the caboose, attempted to contact the front of the train before contacting emergency services after seeing the fire. Investigation The Canadian government set up a Commission of Inquiry to investigate the crash. It was led by Justice René P. Foisy, then of Court of Queen's Bench of Alberta (subsequently of the Court of Appeal of Alberta). The inquiry lasted 56 days of public hearings and received evidence from 150 parties. The Foisy Commission published its full report on 22 January 1987. The inquiry concluded that no one individual was to blame; instead it condemned what Foisy described as a "railroader culture" that prized loyalty and productivity at the expense of safety. As an example of lax attitudes to safety, Foisy noted that engineering crews that took over trains at Edson did so "on the fly". While the locomotive was moving slowly through the yard, the new crew would jump on and the previous crew would jump off. While this method saved time and fuel, it was a flagrant violation of safety regulations which required stationary brake tests after a crew change.