Teen accused of causing train to derail, and then filmed the derailment, investigators say

LINCOLN, Neb. (KOLN/Gray News) - A 17-year-old boy is charged with tampering with a train rail and then filming the train derailment.

According to the complaint, the Omaha Public Power District and BNSF Railway as the two entities who suffered damages in the case.

Investigators say on April 21, a BNSF train came off the rails at the railroad crossing near Monroe and Juniper Streets at 6:10 p.m. Two locomotives and five fully loaded railcars came off the rails but remained upright as they collided with an empty railcar.

A 17-year-old boy and train enthusiast was at the scene, filming the derailment, according to court documents. He shared the video with KOLN following the derailment.

An investigator with the BNSF Railway Police spoke to the train’s conductor after the derailment. He told authorities that he spotted a switch which had been misaligned, leading the rail from an eastbound route onto an industry track.

The conductor tried to make an emergency stop but didn’t have enough time before the train reached the switch location, leading to a derailment and collision with an empty coal car.

A padlock was supposed to be attached to the switch, but the investigator discovered it was missing. Then, the investigator was approached by the 17-year-old while at the scene.

The teen, who had reported the derailment, asked the investigator what had happened. When the investigator said that the cause was undetermined, he said, “Obviously a switch was flipped the wrong way,” according to the warrant.

He also told the investigator that he was a train enthusiast and showed the video he had taken of the derailment. The teen denied trespassing in the area and tampering with the switch, but the investigator wrote that he knew where the switch was and how it worked.

Authorities later went through surveillance video from the area and discovered a vehicle and a lone driver traveling around the area just before the derailment.

The warrant shows that the 17-year-old was seen in a 1996 Buick Park Avenue before setting up his camera. A tripod was set up near the crossing just four minutes before the train derailed, investigators wrote.

In May, investigators matched the vehicle seen in the surveillance footage with the boy’s Park Avenue, court records show.

Investigators say based on the evidence, a search warrant was filed against the teen. Investigators sought potential video evidence from the boy’s phone and digital camera.

The teen was arrested and faces two counts of criminal mischief $5,000+, with each count considered as a class IV felony.

According to the complaint, the derailment caused a total of $350,000 in damages between the power district’s rail and BNSF’s engines and cars.

Lancaster County Attorney Pat Condon says a motion has been filed to move the case from juvenile court to county court. Condon said his office intends to try the teen as an adult.

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