The driver of the train that derailed last month at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport has been fired, a transit authority spokeswoman said Friday.
The driver was asleep at the controls on March 24 when at 2:52 a.m. the commuter train jumped the tracks at the end of the line and appeared to climb an escalator before coming to a stop, CNN reported. Thirty-two people were injured, but no one was killed.
It was not the first time she had fallen asleep at the controls, the National Transportation and Safety Board said.
In February, she slightly overrode a station, leaving the train partially past the platform, CNN reported.
However, Chicago Transit Authority spokeswoman Tammy Chase said the woman was primarily terminated because of March 24 crash.
Another contributing factor to the crash was the train’s brake system, which should have stopped the train automatically. Investigators are inspecting to determine why that didn’t happen.
• Jessica Chasmar can be reached at jchasmar@washingtontimes.com.
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