June 25, 1998

Driver in Fatal Train-Truck Accident Tested Positive for Marijuana

(Ed. note:The Times has a "Forum" which invites readers to "• Join a Discussion on Drug Policy")

CHICAGO—The driver of a truck involved in a fatal commuter train wreck last week has tested positive for marijuana, authorities say.

Keith Lintz, 39, of Niles, Mich., was driving a double tractor-trailer into a steel mill in Portage, Ind., on June 18 when the truck, carrying three 40,000 pound steel coils, became trapped between two parallel train tracks.

While Lintz was stopped for a freight train on one of the tracks, a Chicago-bound commuter train on the other tracks crashed into the rear trailer. The impact hurled one of the coils into the front car of the two-car train, killing three passengers and injuring six others.

Chief David Reynolds of the Portage police said tests found marijuana in Lintz’s urine. Blood tests were still pending. He could not say how much marijuana the tests found or that it contributed to the cause of the crash.

"Unlike some other drugs, marijuana stays in your system for quite a while, so it may be a case where he took some marijuana several weeks ago and it’s just still in his system," Reynolds said.

(Ed. note: It is significant that this is the police chief saying this. The AP story has a similar statement from the driver’s attorney.)

Lintz, whose driving record shows he has received two warning letters from the Michigan secretary of state’s office in the last five years for accumulating points on his license, was cited for four violations at the time of the crash.

The most serious included a failure to properly secure the coils, and an overweight violation, which meant Lintz should not have been pulling the second trailer. Reynolds said evidence was being formally presented to prosecutors Wednesday, who would have the final decision on whether Lintz will face criminal charges.

Investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board re-created the crash Saturday. Matthew Furman, a spokesman for the agency, said preliminary findings from the re-enactment show the train engineer saw the trailer only five to seven seconds before impact.

After applying the emergency brake, the engineer was able to slow the train from 68 mph to 43 mph at the point of impact. Furman said the full investigation would take about year to complete.

Lintz has told investigators the freight train on the parallel tracks in front of him and the crossing gates behind him boxed him in, preventing him from moving.

The 90-mile-long South Shore line shuttles more than 12,000 passengers daily between South Bend, Ind., and Chicago. Portage, Ind., a town of about 30,000 is 30 miles southeast of Chicago.