Gov. Jared Polis signed a bill into law on Thursday that will require investigative reports into light rail crashes to be made public.
Previously, state law kept such reports confidential. So when there were high-profile train crashes or derailments, the Regional Transportation District, which operates the only light rail lines in the state, and the state Public Utilities Commission, which has oversight of light rail safety, would decline requests from police, media, and others for final reports on crash investigations.
One of the bill’s sponsors, state Rep. Mandy Lindsay, an Aurora Democrat, said she was “very excited” to support it after there were two RTD light rail derailments in her city since 2019.
“There was a lot of frustration in my community amongst city counselors and transportation advocates and just community members about what the heck actually happened,” Linsday said at a committee hearing in February.
One of those advocacy groups, Greater Denver Transit, pushed legislators last summer to change the law. Richard Bamber, a co-founder of that group and a railroad civil engineer, told legislators in February that reports on airplane crashes are routinely made public by federal investigators — and that light rail crashes deserve the same level of transparency.
“Confidentiality rules mean important safety information is less likely to be shared and lessons are less likely to be learned,” Bamber said. “We demand 21st century standards of safety.”
The RTD board of directors did not take a position on the bill. In a statement, an RTD spokeswoman said the agency “intends to comply with state law and any directives issued by the Colorado PUC.”
The new law only applies to light rail crash reports and says the PUC may still keep information about ongoing investigations or security information confidential. A PUC spokeswoman also said it’s not clear if the law will lead to the disclosure of existing crash reports.
That means one survivor of an RTD derailment might not be able to see her crash report, even though she’d like to.
Karen Mallette was riding RTD’s R Line to work in the Denver Tech Center in January 2019 when her train sped through a sharp turn in central Aurora and derailed. The doors popped open, she was flung outside and the train’s back end severed her left leg below the knee.
The only thing that apparently kept the train from tipping over — likely onto Mallette — was a pole it hit, according to an investigation by the local prosecutor.
“That’s the only reason I’m still alive,” Mallette told CPR News in 2022. Authorities decided not to charge the train operator with any crime after the investigation.
Mallette, who now uses a prosthetic leg to walk, said she’s never seen RTD’s investigative report on the crash. She isn’t sure if it would’ve been relevant to her claim for compensation from RTD — she received a $387,000 settlement years ago, then the maximum allowed under state law.
It’s been more than six years since the derailment, but Mallette said she still takes steps to protect herself from it. She hasn’t yet walked or driven through the intersection. She hasn’t watched the video of the train car nearly falling on top of her.
But she wants to read the report.
“For the most part, I don't have trauma,” she said in an interview Thursday. “I have more pain than trauma. And right now I'm going through a bad stint, but it would be good to have a complete record.”
