He may be a teen now, but won’t be when he gets out of prison. The NTSB frowns on intentionally derailing a train simply to film a spectacular crash for YouTube. Officials aren’t naming the suspect but they’re certain they have the right guy.
Teen films it all
One Nebraska teen will have a whole lot of time to think about his poor decision making. Authorities aren’t naming the 17-year-old suspect but the two felonies he’s charged with are good for “up to seven years in prison on each count.”
He hasn’t been charged with attempted murder but it’s only a miracle that nobody was killed.
He wasn’t planning to kill anyone and isn’t a domestic terrorist out to cause political mayhem. He was simply a teen with too much time on his hands and a YouTube account.
š„šØBREAKING: A YouTuber derailed a Train in Nebraska allegedly to get āinsaneā footage and views for YouTube.
The 17-year-old, who has not been identified because of his age, posted a 5-minute video of the April 21 derailment in Bennet, calling it the āMOST INSANE VIDEO IāVEā¦ pic.twitter.com/NdtDa2Joiw
— Dom Lucre | Breaker of Narratives (@dom_lucre) July 26, 2024
Not only did he provide all the evidence prosecutors need to send him up the river, he went out of his way to get himself caught. He’ll probably think twice about being so matter of fact on the specific cause, while asking an investigator what happened.
The catastrophe happened right on cue, April 21, near the town of Bennet, Nebraska. The teen who engineered it was impressed with his results, calling his 5-minute production, in all caps for emphasis, the “MOST INSANE VIDEO I’VE EVER TAKEN!” The audio track captures him gasping “Oh my God! Oh my frickin’ God!”
He carefully arranged things so that “two locomotives and five fully loaded rail cars” slammed into an empty one, then flew off the rails. Newton’s laws of inertia and torque explain why the cars managed to remain upright after the head-on collision.

Are they okay?
After his intentionally caused disaster, the anarchist suddenly developed a conscience. “Are they okay?” He inquired about the train crew. Thankfully, after some good chiropractic care, they will be. He isn’t charged with causing any injuries. The teen was “first to report the derailment.” He helpfully “approached an investigator at the scene to show him the footage.”
When he asked what happened, the response was routine. “We’re investigating.” The proud saboteur was quick to point out that “obviously” the switch was in the wrong position. Meanwhile, his fancy camera on a tripod was in exactly the right position to film the result.
Investigators had no problem getting “a search warrant to seize a cellphone and a 4K digital recorder he used to film the wild footage.” They charged the teen with two counts of criminal mischief causing damage worth more than $5,000. Those are felonies.
š„šØBREAKING: A YouTuber derailed a Train in Nebraska allegedly to get āinsaneā footage and views for YouTube.
The 17-year-old, who has not been identified because of his age, posted a 5-minute video of the April 21 derailment in Bennet, calling it the āMOST INSANE VIDEO IāVEā¦ pic.twitter.com/NdtDa2Joiw
— Dom Lucre | Breaker of Narratives (@dom_lucre) July 26, 2024
He’s looking at “a $15,000 fine and up to seven years in prison on each count.” The damage was estimated at over $350,000.
The conductor aboard the engine saw the misaligned switch. “He tried to make an emergency stop” but there wasn’t enough time. Investigators determined the padlock was missing, “indicating that it had been tampered with.”
The teen was also imaged on surveillance video getting out of the family sedan before “walking on the south side of the tracks toward the switch.” Prosecutors are working to have him tried in adult court, instead of as a juvenile.