Widow of Wyoming train crash victim suing Union Pacific

The widow of a Union Pacific engineer who died in a train crash in southern Wyoming has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the company.

The Wyoming Tribune Eagle reports Jason Martinez’s widow, Sheila Martinez, claims the company was negligent for failing to properly inspect or maintain the train’s brake system.

Martinez and conductor Benjamin Brozovich died Oct. 4 after the freight train’s brake system malfunctioned and crashed into another train stopped on the tracks west of Cheyenne. National Transportation Safety Board investigators say the final recorded speed of the train before it crashed was 56 mph (90 kph).

The crash caused 66 cars to derail and $2.4 million in damage.

Union Pacific spokeswoman Kristen South says the company is aware of the lawsuit and is speaking with Sheila Martinez’s attorneys.