Harvey Peeler

An Upstate lawmaker has introduced legislation seeking to stiffen the regulation of miniature trains in the wake of the deadly Cleveland Park crash.

Senate Majority Leader Harvey Peeler, R-Gaffney, on Thursday introduced Benji’s Law – named in honor of the 6-year-old Gaffney boy who died during the derailment on March 19. Peeler said the Rev. Dwight Easler, Benji Easler’s father, helped craft the legislation.

On Monday, the Spartanburg County Coroner’s Office announced it had concluded speed was the lone cause for the crash, which also injured 28 people on board, including the driver, Matt Conrad. Conrad’s attorneys have disputed those findings.

At least one member of Spartanburg County Council also has complained about a lack of documentation with regard to the training local miniature drivers received, and the absence of a device that would restrict the top speed of the train that crashed.

The S.C. Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation, which had shutdown the operation of miniature trains statewide after the crash, already is requiring such rides to be re-inspected and equipped with a governor to limit speed before resuming operation.

Peeler’s legislation would require miniature trains to have working speedometers and devices that would limit speed to the manufacturer’s recommendation or less. If passed, the bill also would require training for drivers and documentation of that training, as well as mechanical inspections of the trains.

State inspectors already examine such rides, but a LLR worker resigned after admitting to falsifying the inspection report for the Cleveland Park train that crashed. Because of a dead battery, that inspector didn’t actually take Sparkles, the red-and-gray train, for a test run to check its speed.

“Really, it’s a tragedy that this wasn’t in place before the accident,” Peeler said, calling the changes “common sense.”

On Monday, Easler said he wants to ensure nothing like this happens again, and that he still holds out hope officials will help families struggling to pay medical expenses incurred as a result of the crash. State law limits the amount of money those families can recoup to $600,000. Earlier this week, Peeler said legislation designed to help those families financially wouldn’t likely pass this session.

Peeler said he hopes to get Benji’s law out of committee next week, saying the only obstacle in front of the bill is the amount of time remaining in this session.

“We may run out of time, but we won’t run out of effort,” Peeler said.

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