By Nick Madigan and Michael Dresser , nick.madigan@baltsun.com and michael.dresser@baltsun.com|August 08, 2009
An investigation into the deaths of two 17-year-old boys who were killed last month by a light-rail train has found "no criminal wrongdoing" on the part of the train's operator, Baltimore County police said Friday.
The deaths of Jarrett C. Peterson and Kyle Wankmiller, who were struck July 5 as they walked on tracks near the Lutherville train station, resulted from an "unfortunate accident," Cpl. Michael Hill, a police spokesman, told reporters in Towson.
No charges will be lodged against the train's operator, who told investigators that he did not see the two boys ahead of him on the track, even though a lawyer for their families said a videotape taken from the train shows the teenagers there.
Hill said there was "no evidence that pointed" to the train driver talking on a cell phone or texting at the time of the accident. Investigators in Chatsworth, Calif., determined a train operator was sending and receiving text messages seconds before an accident there in September that killed 25 people and injured 135.
Investigators looking into the two deaths in Lutherville took a blood sample from the train's driver to see whether he was intoxicated. But the sample was not drawn until about 16 hours after the accident, Hill said, and rendered results that were "insignificant as to the investigation."
Hill said the Baltimore County state's attorney's office "agreed with our conclusion" that no charges were warranted in the case. That conclusion was relayed Friday morning to relatives of the two boys.
"They received it and understand," Hill said, referring to the family members.
Amy Wankmiller, Kyle's mother, expressed concern shortly after the accident that the Maryland Transit Administration police would protect agency employees who were involved in the accident. In response, MTA Administrator Paul J. Wiedefeld asked the Baltimore County Police Department to take over the investigation.
"The MTA as a whole is clearly responsible for these deaths," said Jay Miller, a lawyer who represents Kyle's mother and Connor's father and sister. Miller said Friday that he has notified the MTA that he intends to bring a civil action against the agency.
Miller said police had briefed him earlier on the investigation's findings and that there appeared to be evidence of negligence on the part of the train's driver. But it did not amount to the "willful, wanton disregard for human life" that would be required for a criminal conviction, he said.
