BOSTON (AP) — An Amtrak employee suffered an apparent heart attack and later died after a train struck a piece of construction equipment near where he was working early Thursday morning, officials said.
The Albany, N.Y.-to-Boston train was traveling slightly below the 30 mph speed limit when it struck a forklift just before 2 a.m. a short distance from South Station, its final stop, Amtrak spokesman Cliff Cole said.
Stephen M. Parker, 50, of Raynham, died after the crash, said Joe Pesaturo, a spokesman for the MBTA.
An Amtrak employee suffered an apparent heart attack and later died after a train struck a piece of construction equipment near where he was working early Thursday morning, officials said.
Parker had been working for Amtrak near the tracks as a flag man, which required him to communicate with contractors, Amtrak engineers and train personnel to ensure safety during construction projects.
None of the 23 passengers on the train were hurt. They were put on a MBTA train and taken to South Station. Commuter rail service was not affected.
There are multiple tracks in that stretch and Cole at first said the equipment was on a track it should not have been on. Later, though, he said that was uncertain and being investigated.
But Pesaturo said it was “indisputable” that the forklift was on a track where it was not authorized to be.
The MBTA owns the tracks, but Amtrak maintains them, he said.
The equipment belonged to Cashman Construction, a Massachusetts Turnpike Authority contractor working on the Washington Street bridge above the tracks, Pesaturo said.
Cashman Construction said a preliminary review indicated its crew “took all safety precautions as required by Amtrak and positioned equipment as directed by Amtrak.” It pledged to cooperate with authorities investigating the crash.