Prosecutors: Train's Conductor Negligent, But Not Reckless; No Charges

After several months of reviewing the miniature train crash that killed a six-year-old Gaffney boy, police and prosecutors have decided not to charge the train's conductor.

A Charleston-based prosecutor, who was brought in to avoid a conflict of interest, advised Spartanburg Public Safety that the train's conductor was negligent in his operation of the train, but she concluded the man did not act with "reckless disregard."

"Reckless disregard for the safety of others means that a person is not interested in the consequences of his acts or the rights and safety of others," Scarlett Wilson, the 9th Circuity solicitor, wrote.

Wilson said there was no indication that Matthew Conrad, the conductor, was under the influence of drugs or alcohol or that he had intent to cause the accident.

Wilson, and police, were tasked with deciding whether to charge Conrad with involuntary manslaughter, but just because Conrad was negligent, he was not, they concluded, acting with reckless disregard.

Prosecutors said it would be "impossible to prove that Mr. Conrad acted with a reckless disregard to the safety of his passengers."

Spartanburg Public Safety's director said his department fully agrees that the "behavior of [Conrad] does not rise to the level of a criminal charge."

The decision came at a mid-morning news conference which was packed with journalists and two lawyers representing two families of the train crash.

One of the lawyers, Tom Kiloren, asked the director in more ways than one to defend his decision of not pursuing charges. Kiloren wondered how, if the conductor was traveling more than three times the recommended speed of 8 mph, prosecutors could say there was no reckless disregard.

Again and again, Director Tony Fisher said the law is very specific and that Mr. Conrad's actions did not meet criminal behavior.

"Unless at some point there is significant material evidence that we are not aware of, we have concluded the criminal investigation is over," he said.

Benji Easler, 6, of Gaffney, was killed and 28 others were injured when Sparkles the train crashed March 19, 2011, in Spartanburg's Cleveland Park.

There is at least one civil lawsuit pending against Spartanburg County and the S.C. Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation.

In her review, the prosecutor also noted "the materials [provided to me] indicate a lack of training provided by [Conrad's] employers [Spartanburg County] and the lack of any objective guidelines and specific training as to the operation of the train."

• Below is an excerpt of the letter the prosecutor sent to Spartanburg Public Safety:


"In SC, involuntary manslaughter is the offense which covers acts of criminal negligence. It is defined as the unlawful killing of another without malice and with criminal negligence. This means Mr. Conrad's actions would have to involve an act done with "reckless disregard" for the safety of others. "Reckless disregard" is more than negligence or carelessness. Mere negligence or carelessness is the failure to use the care that a person of ordinary reason would use under the same circumstances. Recklessness is a conscious failure to use ordinary care. Reckless disregard for the safety of others means that a person is not interested in the consequences of his acts or the rights and safety of others.

From my review of the facts, it appears that Mr. Conrad was negligent in operating the train. There is no indication that Mr. Conrad was under the influence of any drugs or alcohol or that he had any intent to cause the accident. Furthermore, the materials you provided me indicate a lack of training provided by his employers and the lack of any objective guidelines and specific training as to the operation of the train. In my view, proving mere negligence would not be a problem, but it would be impossible to prove that Mr. Conrad acted with a reckless disregard to the safety of his passengers."