Anti-gay activist suggests sexuality was factor in Amtrak crash

A Fox News contributor has suggested that the sexuality of the engineer of the Amtrak train which derailed in Philadelphia earlier this week was was “a factor” in Tuesday’s deadly crash.

The New York-bound train derailed after speeding at 106mph around a corner with a limit of 50mph, killing eight people and injuring more than 200.

Sandy Rios, who is also governmental affairs director at the anti-gay American Family Association, made the claims on her radio show yesterday (May 14), saying that engineer Brandon Bastion’s sexuality would be “edited out” of media coverage surrounding the incident.

“I’m not inferring that this accident happened because he was gay, but I do think it’s an interesting part of the story and you can bet it would be edited out,”  she said.

“I think it’s a factor and I doubt you will hear it anywhere else.”

Rios added that the engineer, who says he no recollection of the crash, may have been “going through some confusion that has to do with the very core of who they are.”

She continued: “Someone I know who worked for a very large airline started taking hormone shots and put his entire plane at risk because he had an emotional, angry outburst to something that happened.”

Meanwhile, conservative blogger Charles C Johnson has shared explicit pictures of Bastion online following the tragedy, and suggested he was on meth the night of the crash.

“Gays have a higher rate of mental illness than do straights. You decide if engineer’s homosexuality is worth noting. I report it,” he tweeted.

“It is reasonable to ask if this night shift #amtrak188 train driver was on meth or had history with it, given gay proclivities to it.”

An investigation into the cause of the crash is still ongoing.