Teen boy accused of derailing train in Nebraska for social media content

A teenager has been charged in connection with a train derailment that occurred in Lancaster County, Nebraska earlier this year. The 17-year-old , who was arrested on Wednesday, faces two counts of criminal mischief over $5,000, both class IV felonies.

He is accused of having deliberately flipped a switch to derail the train in order to capture the ensuing carnage that caused $350,000 in damages. Film of the carnage was later posted on a YouTube channel believed to belong to the teen where it was called it the “MOST INSANE VIDEO I’VE EVER TAKEN!” Due to the nature of the crime, prosecutors have moved to have the case transferred from juvenile court to county court, where the teen would be tried as an adult. 

According to KOLN, the incident took place shortly after 6pm on April 21 at a railway crossing near Monroe and Juniper Streets in Bennet, a town about 17 miles southeast of Lincoln. That evening, a BNSF train was travelling down the tracks when it suddenly jumped the rails, causing two locomotives and five full cars to slam into an empty coal car.

Speaking with investigators after the fact, the BNSF Railway Police explained that a switch had been misaligned, directing the train from its eastbound line onto tracks typically reserved for industrial use. During the ensuing investigation, it was discovered that the switch's padlock, which is meant to prevent it from being tampered with, was missing. 

A short time after realizing that the padlock was gone, investigators were approached by the suspect, who had reported the derailment. After asking what happened, the teen went on to offer his theory that "obviously a switch was flipped the wrong way." He also provided footage he'd captured of the moment things went off the rails and told authorities he was a train enthusiast. 

Though he denied any involvement, investigators grew suspicious. Security footage later revealed that shortly before the crash, a 1996 Buick Park Avenue had pulled up to the scene and a single person had gotten out to set up a tripod. Earlier this month, a search warrant was filed and his camera was searched for evidence.