Harding not perfect but reasonable: lawyer for one of Lac-Megantic accused
SHERBROOKE, Que. — The engineer of the train that derailed, exploded and killed 47 people in Lac-Megantic didn’t act perfectly the night of the tragedy, but he acted reasonably, his lawyer said in his closing arguments Monday.
Lawyer Charles Shearson told the 14 jurors Tom Harding didn’t conduct a proper brake test on the train after he parked the oil-laden convoy outside the small town the night of July 5, 2013.
Neither did he apply a sufficient number of handbrakes, but the engineer did leave the locomotive engine on, and applied the air brakes, as per company rules, Shearson said.
“The train wasn’t going anywhere,” he told the courtroom.