The switch and its corresponding signal light, the specific light signal that indicates the intended direction of the tracks, were found to be in perfect working order. Furthermore, the safety braking system installed on the tram, one of the latest generation and unlikely to have any technical faults , never activated before the driver lost control of the vehicle, which was traveling at nearly 50 kilometers per hour, the maximum speed, and then skidded and crashed.
This is the picture that emerged from the initial investigations carried out last Friday, immediately after the Tramlink number 9 accident on Viale Vittorio Veneto in Milan, which killed two people and injured around fifty . This picture reaffirms the most likely hypothesis of human error, due either to illness or distraction by the driver, who is currently the only person under investigation for the train crash, injuries, and manslaughter. A precise direction of the investigation, coordinated by the Milan Public Prosecutor's Office and delegated to the local police, will be determined with the outcome of the technical assessments, which should begin in the coming days.
Notifications are expected to be sent to the parties, the lawyers for both the victims and the tram driver, and any other suspects, so they can participate in the investigation with their consultants. The same applies to the autopsy that will soon be held on the bodies of the two victims, Ferdinando Favia and Okon Johnson Lucky. To shed light on what happened, although it's unlikely that such a vehicle could have malfunctioned, the examination of the black box will be crucial on the technological front: from there, we will determine whether there could have been any flaw, even though many have ruled out such a flaw. Regarding the alleged human error, however, analysis will be crucial, not only of the tram driver's conversations with the ATM operations center, but also of his now seized cell phone. It will be necessary to determine whether he reported something wrong, some "anomalies," or the sudden illness that caused him to lose consciousness, as he claimed from the very beginning, before the impact, followed by the call in which he muttered, "derailment... bad, bad, bad."
Or perhaps it was a fatal distraction, such as a text message sent from a cell phone or something else. To complete the scenario, there will be verification of the video footage, both downloaded from the cameras inside the tramlink and from external cameras placed at the intersection where the train skidded, and a cinematographic consultation. And then, among other things, the ATM employee's medical records will be reviewed to determine whether he suffered from vasovagal syndrome or other disorders. This will be supplemented by the testimonies of those who were on the 9 and miraculously survived.
(Unioneonline)