BOSTON -- Investigators have ruled out track and brake problems as they seek to explain a commuter trolley collision this week that killed an MBTA operator and injured more than a dozen passengers, a federal official said Friday.
National Transportation Safety Board member Kitty Higgins also said investigators are awaiting phone records that could help determine whether the trolley operator was on her cell phone before the crash Wednesday evening, as some passengers have reported.
"My understanding is it will take a while to be able to track down those records," Higgins told reporters during the second on-site briefing conducted by her agency, which is leading the probe.
Operator Terrese Edmonds, 24, of Boston was killed when her trolley slammed into another slower-moving trolley just outside the Woodlands Station in suburban Newton.
The MBTA has been busing commuters around the site, but train service will resume Saturday morning, said MBTA spokesman Joe Pesaturo. Service will be suspended again Sunday in the late afternoon and early evening so investigators can run a final test. But trains will be running as normal by the Monday morning commute, Pesaturo said.
The collision Wednesday twisted over more than a third of the roof on the cab where Edmonds had been working. Firefighters spent seven hours struggling with the mangled wreckage before Edmond's body was removed early Thursday morning.
Higgins said their investigation indicates the train that was struck was traveling 3-4 miles per hour, while the train that rammed it was moving 37-38 mph. The speed limit in the area is 40 mph.
A Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority track geometry vehicle had inspected the track the day before the crash and found no problems. Those findings were confirmed by subsequent examinations, Higgins said.
In addition, investigators found the trolley brakes and brake pads were working and sufficient, while finding no evidence the emergency brake on Edmonds' train was applied any more than the final instant before the collision.
Higgins said that when the brake is applied, it leaves a telltale trail of sand, but in the case of Edmonds' train, sand was evident only at the collision point. In that case, it could have been knocked free by the collision itself.
Meanwhile, the most seriously injured passenger met Friday in her hospital bed with a young stranger who helped her.
Ben Papapietro found Min Perry, 37, pinned in the wreckage of the trolley and called 911 on his cell phone to seek help. He offered her a shirt to breath into and tried to keep her calm.
"Just breath through it OK? Deep breaths for me OK, deep breaths. You're fine, you're going to be fine," Papapietro said, according to recording of his 911 call.
Papapietro, an intern with the Boston Red Sox, stayed until Perry was extricated and flown by helicopter to Boston Medical Center.
Perry, who suffered a broken ankle and whose leg was cut to the bone, held Papapietro's hand on Friday and thanked him for risking his life.
"I wasn't thinking. I just saw you," Papapietro said. "You were about to fall asleep, and I was like, I am not going to let that happen."
(Copyright (c) 2008 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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