AP Vet Among Fatalities in Derailment

Jim Gaines, a 48-year-old software architect for Associated Press, was among those killed in the Amtrak train derailment north of Philadelphia Tuesday night (May 12), the news service said.

At press time, seven passengers on the New York-bound train were confirmed dead in the accident, according to AP.

Gaines, a father of two, was returning from meetings in Washington to his home in Plainsboro, N.J.

Gaines joined AP in 1998 and was instrumental in all AP video initiatives, including providing live video to its hundreds of clients, AP said. He was also part of a team that won a prize for developing AP's Online Video Network.

He is survived by his wife, Jacqueline, who confirmed the death to AP, as well as a son, Oliver, and daughter, Anushka.

John Eggerton

Contributing editor John Eggerton has been an editor and/or writer on media regulation, legislation and policy for over four decades, including covering the FCC, FTC, Congress, the major media trade associations, and the federal courts. In addition to Multichannel News and Broadcasting + Cable, his work has appeared in Radio World, TV Technology, TV Fax, This Week in Consumer Electronics, Variety and the Encyclopedia Britannica.