S5 · 10/19
2013 · 13:44 ·
BART · Near Walnut Creek, CA, USA
| Company | BART |
| Category | other |
| Type | fatality |
| Date | 10/19 2013 |
| Time of day | 13:44 |
| Location | Near Walnut Creek, CA, USA |
| Severity | S5 (fatality or catastrophic loss) |
| Scale | 1 train / 2 fatalities |
| Confidence | high |
| Verification | Yes - adversarially checked against the cited source |
| Source | NTSB |
A BART train operating in automatic (computer-controlled) mode under a trainee operator struck and killed two track workers (a BART employee and a contractor) performing inspections; the operator hit the emergency stop but could not stop in time. NTSB found BART's 'simple approval' worker-protection protocol, lacking positive train control or redundant warning, was the probable cause.