WILMINGTON, Mass. — A Keolis employee who performed testing of a railroad crossing before a deadly collision between a vehicle and MBTA Commuter Rail train in Wilmington has been placed on leave, according to the transportation company.
Keolis said that the employee, a signal maintainer, has been removed from service and will remain on administrative leave while the investigation into the matter continues.
The employee has not been identified.
In a previous statement, MBTA General Manager Steve Poftak said the Keolis signal maintainer was performing the regularly-scheduled testing of the railroad crossing’s safety system less than an hour before Friday’s collision on Middlesex Avenue.
According to Poftak, the MBTA’s preliminary finding is that the safety system was not returned to its normal operating mode following the testing. This failure resulted in the train crossing gates not coming down in a timely manner as the Commuter Rail train approached Middlesex Avenue.
The Haverhill Line MBTA train struck the driver’s side of a vehicle that was being driven by 68-year-old Roberta Sausville, of Wilmington. Sausville was pronounced dead at the scene.
Sausville, who went by the nickname Robbi, worked at the Jamaica Plain VA Medical Center in Boston and was a soloist with the Ipswich River Community Chorus.
Johnny Nichols Jr., one of Sausville’s friends, said she was small in stature with a huge heart.
“It was a gut wrench. It was awful. Everyone was just touched by who she was as a person,” Nichols said. “She was a great vocalist, passionate vocalist — just an incredible human altogether.”
Source: WHDH
About the Author: James Swartz
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