On this day, Jan. 4, in 1987, an Amtrak train that had left the District collided with Conrail engines in Baltimore County, killing 16 people. Conrail engineer Ricky Gates had been smoking marijuana when the locomotive sped through a stop signal. Traveling 108 mph, the train slammed into an oncoming 600-passenger Amtrak train in Chase, Md.
The Conrail diesel engine exploded and burned. The Amtrak’s lead locomotive ended up in some trees. Fires rushed through the train cars and left twisted metal strewn through the neighborhood.
The fiery crash was Amtrak’s deadliest crash in the company’s history at the time.
Gates was uninjured. He pleaded guilty to manslaughter and served four years in prison. He became a drug and alcohol counselor.
— Scott McCabe
