Moments before two trains collided head-on — killing 11 people — a dispatcher was playing video games on his phone, authorities said.
The game distracted him from controlling the train traffic crossing in Germany’s southern state of Bavaria, which contributed to the accident, according to German investigators. They said the dispatcher’s actions were more than just a “temporary failure” but rather a “dereliction of duty.”
The dispatcher has been accused of manslaughter and other crimes.
The February 9 crash happened near the spa town of Bad Aibling, about 60 kilometers (37 miles) southeast of the Bavarian capital of Munich. Police said at least 24 people suffered severe injuries and another 61 had less serious injuries.
Both trains were traveling on the same track at about 100 kilometers per hour (62 mph) at the moment of impact, German Transport Minister Alexander Dobrindt said.
A week after the crash, a local prosecutor said a 39-year-old dispatcher was responsible for the crash, but it was not immediately clear what had happened.
“If he had complied with the rules … then there would have been no collision between the trains,” Wolfgang Giese, the prosecutor, said.
Investigators said they found no evidence of mechanical failure or technical defects that would have caused the crash.