Teen to Be Tried as an Adult for April Train Derailment in Bennet

LINCOLN–(KFOR Aug. 20)–A judge in Lancaster County Juvenile Court has ruled that a 17-year-old train enthusiast will be charged as an adult in the April train derailment that took place in Bennet.

The judge approved of the state’s motion to charge Zachary Hertzler in Lancaster County Court. He faces two counts of criminal mischief. On April 21, a BNSF train came off the rails on the south end of Bennet. Two locomotives and five fully loaded railcars came off the rails but remained upright as they collided with an empty rail car. Hertzler was at the scene, filming the derailment for his YouTube page.

An investigation revealed the switch to the track was misaligned and surveillance video showed a car and a driver fitting Hertzler’s description was near the scene before the derailment. The video has since been deleted from Hertzler’s account.