Franz Speaks to WJZ About Amtrak Train Crash

Keith Franz spoke to WJZ about the Amtrak train crash that occurred May 13, 2015. Click here to view the original WJZ article.

The family of a Maryland man killed in a deadly train derailment says Amtrak is to blame and now they’ve filed a lawsuit. Bob Gildersleeve was one of eight people killed when the commuter train that had passed through Baltimore flew off the tracks near Philadelphia.

The suit is one of two filed Monday against Amtrak from that crash—and attorneys say many more are to come.

For 36 hours, the family of Maryland businessman Bob Gildersleeve frantically searched for him.

“We have no idea where he is or what hospital he is at,” said his son, Mark Gildersleeve.

Gildersleeve was on board Amtrak Train 188 when it derailed last month in Philadelphia, going twice the speed limit. His body was found days later inside the mangled first car.

In a wrongful death lawsuit obtained by WJZ, attorneys say, “…had proper precautions and safety measures been implemented by Amtrak and the train operator, this tragedy would have been prevented and countless innocent lives would not have been devastated.”

Gildersleeve was a vice president of sales at Ecolab in Towson. He was on his way to a business meeting when he was killed.

“They have no opportunity to say goodbye. They have no chance to tell them they love them,” said Maryland attorney Keith Franz.

Franz has filed another lawsuit in the crash here in Maryland for one of the injured.

“There will be lawsuits filed for virtually everyone who was injured in the crash,” he said.