Driver of train in Spain crash had no idea where he was

A rail personnel worker checks the cabin of a derailed train following an accident in Santiago de Compostela, Spain. A Spanish court official said Monday July 29, 2013 that judicial police would soon begin extracting information from the "black box" of a train that crashed last week killing 79 people and injuring some 130 in the country's worst train accident in decades. It is hoped the box might establish what happened in the final seconds prior to the crash. The investigation has increasingly focused on why the driver failed to brake in time to stop the train from hurtling into a dangerous curve, where it careered off the tracks and slammed into a concrete wall. On Monday, Spain's royal family and leading politicians were to attend a somber Mass in homage to the victims killed and injured. (AP Photo)

Francisco Jose Garzon, the driver of the high-speed train involved in a derailment that killed 79 people last week, told investigating Judge Luis Alaez that he lost track of his position and did not know where he was on the evening the accident occurred, sources told EFE.

Garzon, who has been charged with 79 counts of homicide and numerous other crimes, admitted that he was going at double the 80 kph speed limit on the curve in A Grandeira.
The driver told investigators that he "managed to" hit the brakes but it was too late.

Garzon acknowledged in his testimony Sunday that the accident was not caused by mechanical problems or the condition of the train, and he blamed "human error" for the deadly derailment.

The death toll rose to 79 Sunday, when an American woman passed away at a hospital.

Citizens of Spain, Colombia, Mexico, Brazil, the Dominican Republic, Italy, France, Algeria and the US were among those killed in the accident.

The high-speed passenger train went off the tracks Wednesday along the route linking Madrid and the Atlantic coastal city of Ferrol.

The train involved in the accident entered service in 2012 and can go up to 250 kph on international rail networks and 220 kph on the Spanish high-speed rail system.

The signals on the stretch where the accident occurred were operating properly at the time of the derailment and the train had been inspected earlier in the day Wednesday, Spanish railway operator Adif said.

The 52-year-old Garzon was released from the hospital Saturday after being treated for his injuries.

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