Nebraska teen charged with criminal mischief for causing train to derail for YouTube video

A 17-year-old boy in Nebraska was charged Wednesday with two counts of criminal mischief for tampering with a rail switch so a train could derail and hit an empty railcar for a YouTube video.

On April 21, a BNSF train consisting of two locomotives and five loaded railcars came off the tracks after hitting an empty railcar, causing about $150,000 in damage to Omaha Public Power District property and $200,000 to the railway company, according to court documents cited by Lincoln Fox affiliate KFXL-TV. No injuries were reported.

The track where the collision occurred is OPPD-owned and used by BNSF trains to bring coal to a district power plant in Nebraska City.

The train remained upright, with the collision caught on camera by the teen, who shared the video with Lincoln CBS affiliate KOLN.

On April 23, the video was uploaded to the YouTube channel Capitol City Rail Productions, supposedly owned by the boy.

The teen informed authorities about the crash and asked an investigator with the private BNSF police at the scene what caused the crash.

When he was told the cause had not been determined, the boy responded that “obviously a switch was flipped the wrong way,” according to court documents cited by NBC News.

The boy denied any involvement when asked by the investigator, who noted in court documents that the teen knew where the tampered switch was and how it worked.

Surveillance footage showed a lone driver in a car traveling through the area before the collision and showed the teenage suspect setting up a camera and tripod just minutes before the collision, according to court records cited by NBC News and KOLN.

While the case remains in juvenile court, Lancaster County Attorney Pat Condon told KOLN that a motion has been filed to move it to county court and that he intends to try the suspect, who hasn't been publicly identified due to his age, as an adult.