Then he either passed out or died and somehow jammed the control on, or it was intentional, or someone else took control.
Is it possible a mechanical failure would keep it running despite his action??
We don’t know, we’re all just guess at this point and I don’t know the workings of trains at all.
We will all have to sit tight, but I’ll keep my eyes and ears open. When I hear that this is just an accident from the news people, I immediately become suspicious - can’t know anything this early on.
Is it possible a mechanical failure would keep it running despite his action??
No.
However, recently an MBTA engineer jury rigged the dead-man switch so that he could do other things while driving. He went outside to check on a faulty door and forgot to remove his rigging. The train left the station and ran for about 6 miles after the MBTA shut down the electric power.