Tuesday's night's Amtrak crash in north Philadelphia claimed a Naval Academy midshipman and an Associated Press video software architect among its victims, officials confirmed Wednesday.
Navy Secretary Ray Mabus identified the Naval Academy student as Midshipman 3rd Class Justin Zemser, 20, of Rockaway Beach, New York, reports
The Navy Times.
The Associated Press confirmed the death of Jim Gaines, 48, a video software architect and the father of two.
The other victims have not yet been identified, with the AP reporting that the
body of seventh victim has been found at the crash site.
"I know that the brigade and the Navy family is struggling with this, and our thoughts go out to the brigade, family brigade for losing such a crucial member of this institution," Mabus said in a speech to midshipmen at Annapolis, reports The Navy Times.
Zemser was on leave and headed home at the time of the crash. According to his
Navy sports biography, he played Sprint Football at the Academy.
The Associated Press reports Gaines was once named as its "Geek of the Month" for his ""tireless dedication and contagious passion" to technological innovation.
"At AP, not a frame goes by in the world of video that escapes the passionate scrutiny of video architect Jim Gaines," the award said.
Gaines was heading home on Tuesday to Plainsboro, New Jersey, after attending meetings at the AP's office in Washington, D.C. His death was confirmed by his wife, Jacqueline.
The AP said he was employed with the news agency in 1998 and "was a key factor in nearly all of the news agency's video initiatives, including the successful rollout of high-definition video and the AP's Video Hub, a service that provides live video to hundreds of clients around the world."
Gaines' team also won the AP Chairman's Prize in 2006 for the development of the agency's Online Video Network, and Gary Pruitt, its president and CEO, told employees that Gaines "leaves behind a legacy of professionalism and critical accomplishment, kindness and humor."
In addition to his wife, he is survived by a 16-year-old son, Oliver, and an 11-year-old daughter, Anushka.
Also on Wednesday, family and co-workers of Rachel Jacobs, the CEO of the Philadelphia-based tech company
ApprenNet, said she remains missing and may have been aboard the crashed Amtrak train.
"Rachel uses a so-called '10 Trip' ticket, so there would be no record of her reservation until the conductor scanned her ticket on board the train, ApprenNet co-founder Karl Okamoto told CNN.
He said nobody has heard from Jacobs, who is married and has a two-year-old son, since she left a meeting with the intent of boarding the train. She commuted from her home in New York City to her job in Philadelphia, where she was recently appointed as CEO.
"At this point we have no news," said Okamoto. "As you can imagine, we are all very frustrated by the lack of information."
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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