The Hoboken crash involved an engineer who reportedly had undiagnosed sleep apnea, and investigators are looking at it as a potential cause to the accident that killed one woman and injured more than 100 other people.
The engineer’s lawyer, Jack Arseneault, gave the information about his client, 48-year-old Thomas Gallagher, on Wednesday, and two U.S. officials followed up with an announcement of their own: a probe into the sleep apnea’s role in the crash, The Associated Press noted.
Sleep apnea is known to deprive its victims of proper sleep, sometimes leading to “dangerous daytime drowsiness.”
“Sleep apnea is a medical disorder in which breathing repeatedly stops and starts while a person is sleeping,” said the Metropolitan Transit Authority, the agency in charge of New York City’s commuter trains and subway system, according to ABC News. “This results in insufficient sleep. Left untreated, someone with the disorder functions with reduced alertness may involuntarily fall asleep. Those who are at risk for sleep apnea will be referred to medical treatment that can ensure they can do their jobs safely.”
The agency has a sleep apnea screening program, but an official said it’s not clear why Gallagher “wasn’t screened or if he was, how he passed,” the AP reported
“The undisputed facts available to us immediately following this tragic accident led us to find and refer Tom to a specialist,” Arsenault said, according to the AP. “The result of this diagnosis is a material fact in this inquiry to be assessed by people far more qualified than me.”
Gallagher told officials that he didn’t remember the crash when he was questioned in September, which gave his lawyer more reason to believe that his sleep apnea might have played a role in the crash, The New York Times noted.
“It made sense to him because of his experience with the crash that he did everything that he would normally do,” Arseneault told the Times. “He checked his speed, blew the whistle, rang the bell, and the next thing he knew he was on the floor.”
The FRA said it will issue a safety advisory in the days to come to “once again push railroads to address worker fatigue,” the AP reported.
Gallagher was cleared for duty when he went in for a physical in July.