Authorities: Engineer will not face charges in Amtrak derailment

The Philadelphia District attorney's office has concluded their investigation into the Amtrak train derailment that killed eight people, and injured 200 others back in May of 2015.

Officials say they will not be charging the train's engineer, Brandon Bostian, or anyone else with a criminal offense in the derailment, although evidence indicated the derailment was caused by the engineer operating the train in excess of the speed limit.

The DA's office released a statement Tuesday saying in part, "We cannot conclude that the evidence rises to the high level necessary to charge the engineer or anyone else with a criminal offense. We have no evidence that the engineer acted with criminal 'intent' or criminal 'knowledge' within the special meaning of those terms under Pennsylvania law for purposes of criminal charges. Nor do we believe there is sufficient evidence to prove, beyond a reasonable doubt, criminal recklessness, which would be the only other basis for criminal liability."

Amtrak Train 188 derailed on May 12, 2015, after barreling into a sweeping curve in Port Richmond at a high rate of speed.

Investigators had previously determined Bostian, 32, wasn't texting, emailing or talking on his cell phone, and that he wasn't drunk or on drugs either based on recently returned toxicology test. He was simply driving the train twice the speed limit. FOX 29's Dave Schratwieser reports Bostian remains on leave from Amtrak.

READ MORE: Amtrak Derailment: Six Months Later, Many Unanswered Questions |Amtrak derailment survivor gives update on recovery

Seconds before the fatal crash of Amtrak 188, the NTSB has said Bostian was frantically trying to slow the train down. He was quickly approaching that big left hand curve where the speed limit was 50 miles per hour.

The DA's office concluded their statement with the following:

"We applied the law to the facts and reached this conclusion, which is specific to the criminal context. We of course offer no view on potential liability in other legal proceedings arising out of this incident."