The former head of safety for Spain’s state-owned rail infrastructure company told a court Thursday that he was not responsible for the 2013 train crash that killed 80 passengers and injured 145 more.
Andrés Cortabitarte and the train’s driver are both facing four-year prison terms if found guilty of professional negligence for the derailment. The train went off the tracks while speeding at 179 kph (111 mph) on a stretch with an 80 kph (50 mph) limit as it was arriving to the northwest city of Santiago de Compostela.
