The driver of a Spanish high-speed train that derailed and killed 79 people, Francisco Jose Garzon, was released on a pending trial on charges of reckless homicide. He had been under arrest since Thursday. He is said to be driving the train too fast through a tight curve on the outskirts of the northwestern Spanish city of Santiago de Compostela.
Examining Magistrate Luis Alaez formally charged Garzon with "79 counts of homicide and numerous offences of bodily harm, all of them committed through professional recklessness." A court granted him conditional release, but he must check in regularly with the court, surrender his passport and not drive trains.
Police now have the data recorders from the train. At 8:41 p.m. on Wednesday the eight-carriage, high-speed train crashed into a concrete wall, creased, and some of the cars caught fire. The driver of the train has said it was traveling about 190 kilometers per hour (120 mph). Seventy people remain hospitalized with injuries from the crash, including 22 in serious condition, a representative for the regional health department said.
Garzon has worked for Renfe for 30 years, 10 as a driver. His father also worked on the rails. After the accident he was hospitalized with a head injury. On Saturday Garzon was released from the hospital but remained in police custody until he was taken to the hearing at Santiago de Compostela's main courthouse.
After one injured person, a woman from the United States, died on Sunday, the death toll from Spain's worst train disaster in decades rose to 79.
At least 75 bodies have been identified, but it's uncertain whether dozens of body parts belong to those accounted for or those yet to be identified. They will be memorialized together Monday night at a cathedral not far from where they were killed.
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