Transcripts For WPVI Nightline 20150514

Sounds like paradise. So why is it that fewer people have been here than climbed mt. Everest . It looks like avatar in here. Tonight our ginger vee takes us to the other side of the planet in search of buried treasure. But first the nightline 5. I need to be where the pikes are. So i use quick books and run my entire business from the cloud. I keep an eye on sales and expenses from anywhere even down here in the dark. I can still see were having a great month and celebrate accordingly. I run on quick books. Thats how i own it. Good evening. Thanks for joining us. Latebreaking developments tonight about the engineer of that amtrak train being questioned by authorities about the deadly dee railrailment in philadelphia. Investigators now focusing on speed. Did the engineer make a crucial mistake right before the moment of impact . His camp speaks out exclusively to us tonight with abcs david wright on the scene of the amtrak tragedy. Reporter this is whats left of northeast regional amtrak 188. Seven cars tangled on the tracks, killing at least seven people injuring hundreds more. Even as rescue workers continue to search for survivors investigators are already trying to untangle this mess themselves. Only now are they starting to put the pieces together. Tonight we learn the name of the engineer 32yearold brandon bastion of queens new york. An amtrak engineer for the past five years. Police and federal investigators are already questioning him. The question top most on their minds, how come the train clocked 106 miles per hour, more than double the speed limit . Were saying that the speed limit through the curve is 50 miles per hour. Reporter was it human error or a technical failure of some sort . The experts say there has to be some explanation. Tonight speaking exclusively by telephone with abcs david curly, the attorney representing the engineer said police grilled his client for six hours today but his client has no recollection of the crash. He remembers driving the train. He remembers going through that area generally. Has absolutely no recollection of the incident or anything unusual. The next thing he recalls is being thrown around coming to finding his tag, getting his cell phone and dialling 911. Reporter for the 238 passengers inside amtrak 188, this was a routine trip that turned into a nightmare. The moment of impact caught on nearby surveillance cameras that. Flash of light there and there as the hurtling train crashed to a stop at port richmond. Did it feel like the train hit something . No, it didnt feel like the train hit anything. It feeled like someone slammed on the brakes. And then the train started really shaking left to right a lot. Reporter passengers thrown from their seats luggage and laptops turned into projectiles. Entire train cars toppled like toys. Basically the train tilted over and rolled. The passengers knew they had to get out. But climbing out the window meant venturing onto live train tracks. Sparks flying in the smoldering wreckage. Keep calling, okay . Crawl forward, sir. Reporter outside stunned silence. The shock of the tragedy sinking in. It happened in seconds. Reporter 9 28 the First American call went out. Were going to classify this as a mass casualty incident. One train looks like its completely in pieces. I heard like a big bang. Reporter the walking wounded bloody and dazed, some climbing out of the emergency exit, others through the roof of the train. Survivors stumbling to safety. Pastor joey frajanik heard the commotion. His church is less than a mile away from the crash site. We were home right around the corner just relaxing. All of a sudden started to hear choppers, sirens. People were texting us. So we literally ran out of the house. My wife was in her sandals. And we got in the car, shot out to the parking lot over by walmart. We thought we could just deliver water and gatorade and towels. Reporter relief supplies for the First Responders and an impromptu welcome wagon for survivors. We didnt want to get in anybodys way. It wasnt about us. We literally were just delivering and also just giving stuff to Police Officers and firemen. Really anybody who needed something. Reporter emergency medical particular anything Danielle Thor helped one woman who had been trapped upside down inside one of the rail cars for half an hour. Philadelphia fire was just working their way towards it. But as soon as they got her, they got her into a vehicle and straight to us to take care of her. She was hanging upside down . Yes. She said she was hanging tangled in bars from the train. Reporter even for people who suffered minor scrapes or bruises or broken bones, even for people who walked away without a scratch, some passengers were simply beyond help mostly because the trauma to their heads or their chest was too severe to save them. Their stories are heartren muching. Among them justin zem ser, two months past his 20th birthday. His moms pride and joy. Will he was his High School Valedictorian and was just finishing up a second year of mid shipman at the United States naval academy. Reporter he played football for navy, wide receiver. Was headed home to Rockaway Beach at the end of school year. His journey home ended here. 39yearold Rachel Jacobs had texted her husband at 8 45 last night, telling him she had just caught the train. It was the last message hell ever get from her. She was ceo of a philadelphia tech startup commuting from her home in new york. 49yearold jim gaines worked for the Associated Press doing digital video. Voted a. P. s geek of the month. Survived by his wife and his two teenage children. Tonight Wells Fargo Bank confirmed one of its Senior Vice President s, abid gilani, is also among the dead. There are others unaccounted for. Too. Tonight bob gild ersleeve sr. Passed out fliers with a picture of his son bob jr. Bobby is 64, blond hair beautiful blue eyes. Reporter the number of deaths is likely to climb. The locomotive for amtrak 1888 was brandnew, barely a year old. The tracks were inspected just yesterday. The National Transportation safety board is collecting evidence from this box, the event data recorder telling the story of too much speed. The rail lines north of philadelphia are straight. The speed limit 70 miles per hour. But approaching the frankford neighborhood theres a left corner where the speed cuts to 50 miles per hour. But when amtrak 188 left 30th street station at 9 10 and reached frankford 11 minutes later, its going 106. By the time the engineer tripped the emergency brakes it was too late. Bastions attorney tells abc news tonight the engineer has a concussion. He was pretty beat up. Hes got 14 staples in his head. Several stitches in his leg. He has one leg, the other leg immobilized with a knee problem. And what he looked was exhausted. Reporter the Attorney Says police have asked for his clients blood and his phone presumably to see if he was impaired or distracted at the time of the crash. The attorney said his client consented to both. Technologies exists for a fail safe to slow down even if the operator doesnt hit the brakes soon enough. Positive train control is that backup redundant system that will step in and take over and protect all of the passengers. Reporter how can we prevent this from ever happening again . We wont know until we have all the answers. And federal investigators say that will take time. Im david wright for nightline in philadelphia. Up next, creed former lead singer scott staff talking candid biabout his Prescription Drug abuse and psychotic episodes and why hes now flying higher than ever. And youll never guess where this tropical paradise is located. Our ginger zee takes us to a magnificent hidden world. Im brian vickers, nascar® driver. Im kevin nealon comedian. And im arnold palmer, professional golfer. Know what we have in common . We talked to our doctors about treatment with xarelto®. Me, when i had a blood clot in my leg that could have traveled to my lungs. Thats why i took xarelto®, too. Xarelto® is proven to treat and help reduce the risk of dvt and pe blood clots. I took xarelto® for afib. An irregular heartbeat that can lead to a stroke from a blood clot. Xarelto® is proven to reduce the risk of stroke in people with afib, not caused by a heart valve problem. Hey, well im glad we got together. For people with afib currently well managed on warfarin there is limited information on how xarelto® and warfarin compare in reducing the risk of stroke. I tried warfarin before, but the blood testing routine and dietary restrictions had me off my game. Tell me about it. Lets see, golf clinic, or blood clinic . Ooh, thats a tough one. Not this time. Not with xarelto®. Anything else . Ill have another arnold palmer. Ok. Make mine a kevin nealon. Really, brian . Hey, safety first. Like all blood thinners, dont stop taking xarelto® without talking to your doctor as this may increase your risk of a blood clot or stroke. While taking xarelto® you may bruise more easily and it may take longer for bleeding to stop. Xarelto® may increase your risk of bleeding if you take certain medicines. Xarelto® can cause serious bleeding and in rare cases may be fatal. Get help right away if you develop unexpected bleeding unusual bruising, or tingling. If you have had spinal anesthesia while on xarelto® watch for back pain or any nerve or musclerelated signs or symptoms. Do not take xarelto® if you have an artificial heart valve, or abnormal bleeding. Tell your doctor before all planned medical or dental procedures. Before starting xarelto® tell your doctor about any conditions such as kidney, liver, or bleeding problems. Xarelto® has been prescribed more than 11 million times in the u. S. And that numbers growing. Like your guys scores. With xarelto® there is no regular blood monitoring, and no known dietary restrictions. Treatment with xarelto® was the right move for us. Ask your doctor about xarelto®. You may be able to get up to 12 months at no cost. A part of what standardized tests dont measure, very frankly they dont measure the diligence, the potential passion of a student. So its really a measure of how adept you are to working out a problem quickly. But what if youre brilliant and it might take you twenty minutes, but you can figure out something if you were just given time to do it and show real brilliance. Is that a real measure of ability and intelligence . What you can do in one minute on a problem . Get out of here. You know, when youre the lead singer of a multiplatinum rock band sex, drugs and rock and roll isnt just a clever phrase, its a way of life. But for scott staff of creed, the good times came crashing to a halt when an undiagnosed Mental Illness spiralled out of control. Now hes confronting it with newfound sobriety and a beloved wife who helped save him. Coming clean to abcs matt gutman for a nightline exclusive with People Magazine. Welcome to the place scott staff is the shaggyhaired former front man of the megaband creed. The heart throb had multiplatinum albums with an them like with arms wide open. Reporter and songs like higher. Can you take me higher but the family plan sure seemed low, stealing this motorized supermarket scooter late last year. Why was he making maniacal calls to his sons school. Then he posted these creepy videos on facebook. I had to sleep in my truck. I had no money, not even for gas or food. I went two days without eating because i had no money. Reporter fuelling speculation by many that he was on some meth binge. It was worse for staff, he was in the midst of a 5monthold psychotic episode. Ive reached out to the secret service. Reporter how close did you think at that time you were close to losing him . I expected to get a call like something tragic. Reporter he wasnt dead but he was in hell. I made crazy accusations toward my wife. I thought people were following me. I thought there was a government conspiracy to drug me. Reporter he says his descent began in 1998 just when he started soaring, telling abc news his nose dive began just after creeds multiplatinum debut album my own prison. I had four number one singles. My career was take off. Then all of a sudden the depression came over me. Reporter today he says the years of Substance Abuse was selfmedication for undiagnosed bipolar disorder. I didnt want to return to street drugs. I deceived myself. And knowingly went in to see a doctor having the previous diagnosis it made it easy for him to prescribe me aderol. In august of last year with a legal, doctorprescribed medication which he now admits as an addict he shouldnt have sought out. Did the doctor know youd had addiction problems in the past . I hid that from him. I did what alcoholics and addicts do. I lied. I started taking more. And i got up to taking double the legal dosage. I told him, if you dont stop this im going to leave. Thats when i checked myself into the holiday inn. And i abruptly stopped the medication. And basically that was like throwing fuel on a fire. Reporter but it got worse. It started off on a oneman driving tour across the country, a ticking time bomb. I threw a bunch of stuff in my vehicle when i left. All my weapons that i had collected over the years. I was an avid gun collector. I felt compelled to give away some expensive artwork to a church. Three Salvador Dali sketches. Somewhere in mississippi. You dont even know what town. No, i dont. You just happened to vet in your truck . I had them in the back of my truck, yeah. Reporter his wife filed for divorce. She claimed he was irrational, incoherent, delusional psychotic, dangerous and needs to be involuntarily committed to a mental facility again. I also called the white house two or three times. I was certified crazy. Reporter throughout the ordeal his wife who says she never stopped loving him, was texting him and sending him pictures of his family pleading with him to get help. I mean at one point in time i thought that i was some type of programmed agent for the cia. The more your deelusion persists the more it actually sounds like the bourn identity. I thought that i was jason bourn. I thought i was just like that. Reporter in november 2014 staff called 911. I had called 911 because i thought i was having a heart attack. I was in such fear. Reporter he sounded so insane the state of florida baker acted him, meaning it forecefully institutionalized him. Whats amazing is that in the moment of your greatest insanity and hallucination, something pulled you out of that that you decided to call 911 and that you allowed yourself to be treated. I can tell you what it was. What was it . It was love. It was my love for this woman and my love for our family. Reporter and just after christmas, 2014 jaclyn flew to l. A. To talk. Scott checked himself into a treatment facility, and it was only then that they learned the source of the psychosis. He was diagnosed with bipolar disorder, a Mood Disorder characterized by unexpected shifts in moods. Well, i was in denial. I didnt want to be bipolar. It had been mentioned. I just wanted to be someone who suffered with bouts of depression. I was willing to accept that. And this episode really broke me. Reporter after a ninemonth ordeal, suffering in silence, the couple is speaking out. Also opening up to People Magazine to bring awareness to bipolar disorder. And their struggle to stay together. Jaclyn, not only did he freak the family out, but he humiliated you guys. Can you forgive him for all thats happened . I mean i can definitely forgive. I dont know if i can forget it. I mean, its forever. But i have to. I have to forgive. I cant let this haunt me forever. Im writing a lot of songs for my wife right now. Reporter and with that diagnosis, the man who says he was caged by this disease finally getting the right treatment. His road trips not much longer these days than strolling to the lake behind his florida home. I come out here every day and try to meditate. Its the first thing that i do. I wake up in the morning. Its just something to get my thoughts outside of myself and on something bigger. And just kind of focus on what really matters in my life. And you know thats my family. Reporter for nightline, im matt gutman boca raton, florida. Now, thats what i call a happy ending. People magazine on stands now. Up next where on earth is ginger zee taking us now . Shes far from civilization after trekking for days inside a tropical paradise unlike anything youve ever seen. Good. Very good. You see something moving off the shelves and your first thought is to investigate the company. You are type e. Yes, Investment Opportunities can be anywhere. Or not. But you know the difference. E trades bar code scanner. Shorten the distance between intuition and action. E trade opportunity is everywhere. When eating healthy and Drinking Water just isnt enough to ease my constipation i trust dulcolax tablets. I take dulcolax for dependable overnight relief and in the morning i am back to myself dulcolax, designed for dependable relief at perdue, we know fresh chicken. Well, not that kind of fresh. But we do take extra steps in our farms, trucks that deliver daily and everywhere in between. To bring you a fresh tasting chicken. Perdue. We believe in a better chicken. Tina sorry i was day dreaming. About becoming a pastry chef . Uh. Yeah. Specializing in custom cakes . Right and opening your own bakery . Howd you know . Youve got the new instant game from the pennsylvania lottery. Yeah king of cash with top prizes of 100,000. [male announcer] want to see your dreams come to life . You could scratch your way to instant winning. The pennsylvania lottery. Bring your dreams to life. At perdue, we know fresh chicken. Well, not that kind of fresh. But we do take extra steps in our farms, trucks that deliver daily and everywhere in between. To bring you a fresh tasting chicken. Perdue. We believe in a better chicken. Tonight our ginger zee takes us to one of the most magnificent buried treasures deep inside a mountain inside a jungle on the other side of the planet. Getting there is a gigantic undertaking. But as youre about to see with a little help from some spectacular drone footage, it is so worth the effort. Reporter we entered through a claustrophobic crevice. Then it opens up and drops down and down. At the bottom i feel like ive landed on another planet. A subterranean rushing river. Now i find myself in mother natures Sculpture Garden filled with prehistoric boulders and stalagmites, gigantic columns built up by calciumdripping water. You can see me about 400 feet below the top of one of the Worlds Largest caverns. Inside a mountain in Central Vietnam and was only found a couple of decades ago. After a grueling hour, an illuminating light 1,000 feet overhead. Every turn theres something else. This colossal sky light where the chamber ceiling collapsed is called a dolight. Its a lush green oasis. Sand beaches lit up below. It looks like avatar in here. It doesnt feel real. No. This is that hidden world weve been chasing. Sondong or Mountain River caves, the planets largest. Just look at this it is unbelievable im standing on a colossal stalagmite, the jewel in the crown of sondong cave. We press on. Suddenly im in a jungle under a second monster sky light. Not atop a mountain but inside it. You dont normally get trees and jungles in caves. Thats why its quite different. Jungle plants and animals from above adapting to this unique subterranean netherworld. What a view from those drone cameras. Breathtaking beauty like a fantasy world come to life. The punishing journey worth every ounce of sweat. Its something this grandiose was just found, imagine whats is out there. Gorgeous. Our thanks to ginger zee for that stung report and to you for watching abc news. Tune into Good Morning America tomorrow. As always were online 24 7 on our Nightline Facebook page and on abcnews. Com. Good night, america. [dramatic music] ahh ahhahh hello, and welcome to millionaire. Im terry crews. Some of may know me from Brooklyn Ninenine and im lucky enough to also be here hosting millionaire. [cheers and applause] having worked over 45 different jobs in her lifetime, my returning contestant is the definition of a hustler. Her motto is, if you need money, you better go out and get it. Shes here to collect some dough today. From new york city, please welcome gretta lee. Yes. Terry. Its so good to see you again. We matchin. Oh, yeah. We matchin. We got it. Oh, yeah. Gretta, what would you do when you get the Million Dollars . Im gonna buy fast cars and date young men oh. Ahh. Cross that. You watch yourself. Aint nothing an old man can do for me but bring me a message from a young man. Oh, my goodness. In fact, terry, ill give you all my winnings if you let