“The Amtrak train that derailed in Philadelphia on Tuesday night, killing at least seven, was barreling into a sharp turn at 106 miles an hour — more than twice the speed limit on that stretch — when the engineer slammed on the emergency brakes, seconds before the train jumped the tracks, according to the National Transportation Safety Board.

The maximum allowed speed was 50 m.p.h. on that curve, in the Port Richmond section of the city, but data downloaded from the “black box” recorder showed that just before it crashed, the train was speeding at 106 m.p.h., Robert Sumwalt, the National Transportation Safety Board member leading the investigation, said at a news conference late Wednesday. He said that the speed limit on the straightaway leading to the curve was 80 m.p.h; the Federal Railroad Administration said it was 70.

“Just moments before the derailment,” Mr. Sumwalt said, “the engineer applied full emergency brake application.” When the data recorder stopped working three seconds later, he said, the speed was 102 m.p.h.” *

Cenk Uygur (http://www.twitter.com/cenkuygur) and Ana Kasparian (http://www.twitter.com/AnaKasparian) discuss on The Young Turks. Tell us what you think in the comment section below.

*Read more here http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/14/us/amtrak-train-derails-crash-philadelphia.html?_r=0