By Demi Vitkute 4/14/2016
A railway dispatcher caused the deadly collision of trains in Germany a month ago because he was playing on his cellphone, according to state prosecutors.
Two trains collided in the German state of Bavaria, 35 miles southeast of Munich, on Feb. 9, leaving eleven people dead, and 80 people injured. A week later, Wolfgang Giese, the state prosecutor, said that the dispatcher had violated work rules.
“The latest investigation shows that, in violation of the railway work rules, the accused switched on his mobile phone during his shift on the morning of the accident, started an online computer game and played actively for an extended period of time until shortly before the collision,” Mr. Giese said in a statement.
The dispatcher is expected to be charged with involuntary manslaughter and violation of work rules.
A similar incident happened in 2011 when a local passenger train collided near the city of Magdeburg, leaving 10 people dead and 33 injured.