The MBTA says speed was a “contributing factor” in Monday’s Green Line derailment, and the driver has been taken off the job, pending an investigation.
WCVB.com reports, the driver of the Green Line trolley, 48-year-old Sydley Gardner, has been placed on paid leave, while investigators look into Monday’s incident.
T spokesman Joe Pesaturo told WCVB, no track or signal problems were found.
“Investigators continue to take a close look at the performance of the motor person who was operating the train at the time,” Pesaturo said.
Gardner, Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles records revealed, has a history of driving violations, including “speeding, failure to stop, and several license suspensions,” WCVB reports.
His driving record wasn’t checked by the T in 2008, when he was hired. At the time, state law didn’t require it.
In 2012, Gardner made nearly $102,000 as a T driver.
Ten people sustained minor injuries Monday, when Gardner’s Green Line trolley veered off its track, colliding with a tunnel wall. According to an earlier Boston Herald report, the speed limit in the area of the crash, west of Kenmore, is 6 mph.
Green Line D Branch service resumed this morning.
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