Trio acquitted in Canada rail disaster
January 20, 2018
The 12-person jury reached the verdict on Friday, acquitting the three men following nine days of deliberations.
The trial stemmed from the deadly derailment of a Montreal, Maine & Atlantic train in the town of Lac-Megantic, Quebec, five years ago.
On July 6, 2013, the train carrying volatile Bakken crude oil came loose in the middle of the night, barreled towards the town center and exploded.
Former engineer Tom Harding, 56, rail traffic controller Richard Labrie, 59, and operations manager Jean Demaitre, 53, each faced one count of criminal negligence causing the death of 47 people.
All three had pleaded not guilty.
"It was a long process, but now it's over and my only hope is that we can actually turn the page and become anonymous again, as we were before 2013," Labrie told reporters in the courthouse.
Harding's lawyer, Tom Walsh, said this was "a very fair verdict," adding that his client was"very marked by this experience" and "terribly relieved and terribly thankful to the system."
The prosecution argued that Harding played a significant role in the disaster because he didn't apply a sufficient number of brakes. They also blamed Labrie and Demaitre, saying they didn't take the necessary steps to avoid injuries and loss of life.
The derailment destroyed dozens of buildings in the lakeside town and was one of the deadliest rail accidents in Canada's history. Firefighters took two days to put out the blaze and more than 2,000 people were ordered to leave their homes.
The incident also sparked calls for rail safety improvements and led to the country ending the use of one-man crews to move dangerous goods.
nm/jm (Reuters, AFP, AP)