Truck driver involved in crash with Amtrak train carrying GOP lawmakers had marijuana and a prescrip

[Eugene]

Source: Washington Post

Truck driver involved in crash with Amtrak train carrying GOP lawmakers had marijuana and a prescription drug in his system, NTSB says

The trash truck went around safety barriers and into the path of the train, according to a preliminary report from investigators.

By Ashley Halsey III March 21 at 5:19 PM

The driver of a trash truck who authorities said went around the barrier at a railroad crossing and into the path of an Amtrak train carrying Republican lawmakers to a retreat had marijuana and a prescription drug in his system, the National Transportation Safety Board said this week.

The NTSB has not released its final report on January 2018 crash near Crozet, Va., but it posted a probable cause report on the agency’s website that said ​it was “the truck driver’s decision to enter an active grade crossing and his inaction when he encountered obstacles while attempting to cross the railroad tracks, most likely due to his impairment from the combined effects of the drugs marijuana and gabapentin.”

Gabapentin is a prescription drug used to treat mood an anxiety disorders.

A grand jury last year indicted the driver, Dana W. Naylor Jr., on one count of involuntary manslaughter and one count of maiming another while driving under the influence, A co-worker of Naylor’s who was riding in the truck was killed and several lawmakers were injured in the crash. A jury last month found Naylor not guilty of involuntary manslaughter.

-snip-

Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/transportation/2019/03/21/truck-driver-involved-crash-with-amtrak-train-carrying-gop-lawmakers-had-marijuana-prescription-drug-his-system-ntsb-says/

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Source: National Transportation Safety Board

Highway Accident Brief: Collision Between Passenger Train and Refuse Truck at Active Grade Crossing, Crozet, Virginia

Executive Summary

​On Wednesday, January 31, 2018, about 11:16 a.m., a 2018 Freightliner refuse truck operated by Time Disposal, LLC, was traveling south on Lanetown Road near Crozet, Virginia. The truck was occupied by a 30-year-old driver and two passengers, who were en route to help another crew collect refuse. The truck’s route required traversing a highway–railroad grade crossing on Lanetown Road, at railroad milepost 195.85 of the Buckingham Branch Railroad (BBR). The grade crossing is located on a curved segment of the track and is equipped with an active warning system consisting of flashing warning lights, bells, and gate arms that lower at a train’s approach.


Probable Cause

​The National Transportation Safety Board determines that the probable cause of the crash in Crozet, Virginia, was the truck driver’s decision to enter an active grade crossing and his inaction when he encountered obstacles while attempting to cross the railroad tracks, most likely due to his impairment from the combined effects of the drugs marijuana and gabapentin. Contributing to the severity of the injuries was the lack of seat belt use by the truck occupants.

https://www.ntsb.gov/investigations/AccidentReports/Pages/HAB1903.aspx

[mr_lebowski]

1. Pot lasts in your system for over a month, and gabapentin really isn't an intoxicating drug

If you take a bunch you can catch a little bit of a weird and really not 'fun' buzz off of it, but that's about it. It's also used for like 15 conditions, not just 'anti-anxiety', in fact I think that's an off-label use. Calling it that makes it sound like it's like Xanax ... when it's really not.

This MIGHT be the reason for the accident, but it could as easily NOT be.

[dewsgirl]

2. I had a prescription for Neurontin(Gabapentin) for 5

years, I also was prescribed Xanax for years, not all at once. Although Xanax affects gaba A and Gabapentin gaba B, I have to strongly disagree with this statement. It would depend on dosage, and whether it was taken properly.
It is off label for anxiety. I believe it was originally for nerve pain.

[mr_lebowski]

3. Like I say, if you take more than normal (or if you're naive to it),you can catch a little buzz ...

Just 'being on it' doesn't mean you can't drive, that's my point. You didn't 'not drive' for 5 years did you?

I think it's actually originally an Anti-Seizure med IIRC, but I think at this point 'nerve-pain' may be on-label.

My other point is that saying '(drug) that is used for mood and anxiety disorders', when those are OFF-LABEL, is crap reporting.

[dewsgirl]

4. I drove, there were times I probably shouldn't have.

It has become a recreational drug in the last few years. As well as being prescribed off label(of course), to help with opioid addicition. It is quite addictive and as hard to get off as benzodiazepines.
It is anti seizure part of why I started taking it(I can't believe I forgot that).

[mr_lebowski]

5. You nailed exactly why I'm very familiar with this particular drug ;)

Not the 'recreational' part. The other use. And my ex-wife was on it for chronic pain for awhile. She had to wean down slow.

Yes, it is rough to get off of after long-term use, like many drugs, but it's nowhere near as rough to quit as benzos (quitting benzos can kill you), and it's much easier to wean down off of than benzos as well. Partly because it's really not fun. Benzo's kinda are.

If people are abusing it it's because they can't get any decent drugs. Like I say, it's really not a fun drug.

Again, not saying it's not POSSIBLE to take enough gabapentin to make it so you shouldn't drive, but just because you have it in your system doesn't mean you're messed up on it. Your body adapts pretty quick to a therapeutic dose and you basically just feel 'normal' on it.

Taking Gabapentin is, overall, not that much different than Paxil. It has nasty withdrawals too, and you can get a buzz taking more than you're used to, etc.

On edit: As you alluded to, Gabapentin, along with Clonidine and Ambien (if you're lucky) are freaking magical for opioid w/d's. Combined, they turn an absolutely intolerable misery into one that mere mortals can survive. And none are opioids, obviously, and if you only use them for 2-3 weeks, they are easy to just up and quit.

Oh, and Loperamide, AKA Imodium. That is also a freaking lifesaver ... Though it's kinda delaying the inevitable because it's a 'gut-acting-only' opioid ... but if you can get through the worst at the beginning, you can deal with stomach distress later when you quit the loperamide ... a lot more easily.