Sleep Apnea Named Culprit in Deadly Subway Crash

A new report has identified sleep apnea as one of the primary causes of a deadly Metro-North subway crash that killed four people and injured dozens more last December.

After an extensive investigation, officials have zeroed in on an undiagnosed sleep disorder – and the confusion it wrought:

The engineer, William Rockefeller, told investigators he became “dazed” and “almost like mesmerized” while he was looking straight ahead as the train traveled through the Bronx toward Grand Central Terminal.

It’s not known how many accidents on our roadways are caused by obstructive sleep apnea, but most experts name sleep deprivation and fatigue among the most common causes of highway fatalities. Conservatively, this amounts to many thousands of preventable roadway deaths.

Sleep apnea can be treated through lifestyle changes such as weight loss, medical devices such as CPAPs, or surgical interventions like turbinate reduction and septoplasty. If you’d like to learn more, contact the Los Angeles sleep apnea experts today.