SAN FRANCISO — A train operator has been placed on “non-driving status” after she appeared to fall asleep behind the controls.
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CNN Newsource affiliate KGO-TV reports that the train reached speeds up to 50 mph. The video captured the whole incident.
“Any unsafe incident is one too many,” said Director of Transportation Julie Kirshbaum.
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The video shows a train operator appearing to fall asleep at the wheel.
Many of the train’s passengers spoke out.
“It was scary. I mean, people around me were screaming,” said Estefani Aguilar.
The video was released in response to a public records request. It shows the operator, head down, at a stop as riders board.
Moments later, the woman sits back up as the train heads through a tunnel.
Then, she is seen nodding off as the train accelerates to 50 MPH.
The video shows her suddenly awake.
“It wouldn’t stop. Sorry, relax, relax, relax,” the operator said.
She can be heard trying to calm riders and blaming the speed on the brakes.
The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) said that the story is not true.
“Our investigation ruled out mechanical failure and determined the cause of the incident to be operator fatigue,” said Kirshbaum.
The operator was placed on a “non-driving status.”
“I didn’t think that she was at fault at that time, but it’s definitely a shock when I saw the video,” said Aguilar.
SFMTA did not say how long the driver had been with the agency or if she had prior issues.
The agency said neither staffing issues nor overtime played a role.
“This operator had driven 58 hours in the preceding two weeks and did not have any unexpected work rules,” said Kirshbaum.
A fatigue awareness education program was immediately started.
Before the incident, SFMTA was working with Siemens on new technology.
“We do believe the technology that we have been developing with Siemens, which would be the first of its kind, would have significantly helped this incident,” said Kirschbaum.
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