The Amtrak Engineer Who Was Behind the Controls

There are still a lot of unanswered questions about Tuesday's Amtrak derailment that killed eight people and injured more than 200.

A lot of those questions revolve around the man who was behind the controls at the time of a crash. Thirty-two-year-old engineer Brandon Bostian grew up in Memphis, and now resides in Forest Hills, Queens. He is described as a life-long train enthusiast — a passion he eventually parlayed into a career.

David Phillips, a reporter with The New York Times, co-wrote a profile of Bostian this week.

"Speaking to people who knew him, he was a very detailed-oriented, sort of orderly person, a church-going guy, a person who got along with seemingly everyone, and a guy who was meticulous about details," Phillips said. "Friends really described him as by the book."

Friends also told Phillips Bostian was "distraught" by the crash — which he has told federal investigators he does not remember.

In this interview, WNYC's David Furst talks with Phillips about Bostian.