![]() The East Palestine disaster as well as a spate of other recent train derailments have sparked a show of bipartisanship in the Senate. Shelley Capito of West Virginia, in a call with reporters on Wednesday to emphasize they would work in bipartisan fashion “to deliver accountability to the communities and folks who have been impacted.” Tom Carper, D-Del., the chair of the committee opened the hearing by calling it an “an opportunity to put ourselves in the shoes of those impacted by this disaster, examine the immediate response and ensure long-term accountability for the cleanup efforts.”Ĭarper joined the top Republican on the committee, Sen. ![]() Scenes of billowing smoke above the village, alongside an outcry from residents that they are still suffering from illnesses, have turned high-level attention to railroad safety and how dangerous materials are transported. No one was injured in the crash, but state and local officials decided to release and burn toxic vinyl chloride from five tanker cars, prompting the evacuation of half of the roughly 5,000 residents of East Palestine. Federal regulators have also said Norfolk Southern itself must do more to improve safety. Senators, however, have promised a pressing inquiry into the derailment, the Biden administration’s response and the company’s safety practices after the toppling of 38 railcars, including 11 carrying hazardous materials. The company has announced several voluntary safety upgrades. Norfolk Southern’s final financial responsibility is expected to run far beyond that after legal proceedings. He pointed to a $20 million commitment so far to help the community recover. “We’re going to be there for as long as it takes to help East Palestine thrive and recover.” “I’m terribly sorry for the impact this derailment has had on the folks of that community,” Shaw said. Attorneys for Evans and Shipman also argued that their clients don’t match the description of the men involved in the shooting.He did back proposals to tighten standards for tank cars that the railroads don’t own, expand hazardous materials training for first responders and establish standards for the trackside detectors railroads use to spot problems. Many of the witnesses prosecutors plan to call are serving prison sentences, Butler told jurors, and are hoping to get their terms reduced as a result of their testimony.ĭefense attorneys for the four men said the witnesses, some of whom are members of gangs and drug cartels, can’t be trusted because they’re just trying to earn favor with prosecutors. Jurors also saw surveillance footage from a Portsmouth gas station and convenience store that shows the same Lexus stopping to get gas 26 minutes before the shooting and one of the men going into the store. The video was played for jurors Thursday. The car is seen again, driving in the opposite direction, three minutes after the shooting. Police also obtained footage from a light-rail station near Bond’s home that showed a black and gray Lexus drive by 12 minutes before Bond was shot. An attorney representing a woman affiliated with Simpson later contacted Norfolk police and said she had information about the case, Mitchell testified. Butler told jurors in his opening statements the woman was Evans’ girlfriend at the time. Police later learned the car belonged to a woman from Greensboro, Mitchell said.
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