the 30-mile-per-hour limit. the emergency brake was automatically activated after when the accident was occurring, rather than being initiated by the engineer. reporter: the train was making its first passenger run between seattle and portland on newly upgraded track, filled with rail lovers like zach willhoite and jim hamre, two of the three people who died. it was like being inside an exploding bomb. reporter: beverly and charlie heebner were excited for that maiden run, too. i saw her legs, i reached down and i shook one, and she shook it back. i said, oh, boy, are you all right? and she said, i think so. reporter: drivers who saw it all happen came running to help. even when people were pinned under the train, i just like, i grabbed the dude s hand and was, like, rubbing his back. reporter: the new stretch of track was equipped with a safety system called positive train control, or ptc. transponders along the tracks exchange signals with the train s onboard co
jumped the tracks, plummeting on to the highway and vehicles below. we ll be we hope interviewing the crew to find out if they have more information that can help us figure this out. reporter: besides looking at whether a mechanical malfunction played a role, investigators are now focused on the crew controlling the train and whether human error caused the deadly derailment. it was like being inside an exploding bomb. there was this body lying there, i mean, it was he had hardly had any clothes on. the cloekts had just been ripped off him and he was obviously dead. reporter: while investigators have not determined the cause, amtrak s ceo says positive train control was not activated when the derailment happened. ptc is a technology which automatically slows down and eventually stops a train if it senses it s going too fast. sound transit, the company that owns the tracks, says the technology will be fully implemented by next spring. one of ntsb s board members
charlie and beverly, hebner, take a listen to what they say it was like being on the train when it derailed. it was like being inside an exploding bomb. all of a sudden it was just crash and there i was down. the train went like this. there was this body lying there. i mean it was he hardly had any clothes on. the clothes had just been ripped off him. he was obviously dead? i think we were lucky to be getting out of here alive. then i decided we re fortunate, not lucky. i don t think luck had anything to do with it. reporter: and if you think about the fact that more than 70 people were taken to hospitals, ten in serious condition, those two people, that couple there, very lucky to be alive today. erica? absolutely. stephanie, thank you. also with us, larry man, an attorney, and also a congressional staffer and the
and charlie, they re 78 and 79 years old, take a listen to what they said was like being there on that train during this derailment? it was like being inside an exploding bomb. all of a sudden it was just crash and there i was down, and the train went like this. there was this body lying there. i mean it was he hardly had any clothes on. the clothes had been ripped off him. he was, obviously, dead. i think we were lucky to be getting out of here alive. and they went on to say charlie had going on to say he doesn t think it was luck, they were just fortunate they were able to make it out and bo both alive. very, very scary turn of events for people who just wanted to take the maiden voyage because they were excited about the new train line. thank you for the reporting in dupont, washington, we appreciate it. with us russ quinnby, former rail accident investigator for