Update: Train driver confirmed to be texting before crash

The first results of the National Transportation Safety Board investigation are in. Surprising no one, it's now confirmed that train driver Robert Sanchez was indeed sending text messages moments before crashing a train full of people into an oncoming freight train, killing 25 people. His last text message was sent 22 seconds before the two trains collided.

That message was a response to a text received 80 seconds before the crash. While we'll likely will never be able to definitively say one way or the other due to the lack of eyewitnesses, those 58 seconds between received message and sent message are likely the reason why Sanchez missed the "red lights" on the track as the freight train approached. He probably just had his eyes off the "road."

While the timestamps are useful, authorities say they are now working to pinpoint the exact times when the various events in question occured: The cellular network clock and the train's onboard computer clock are almost certainly set slightly differently, so the final, incoming text message may have arrived somewhat earlier or later than 22 seconds before the crash. If the timestamps are reconciled exactly, the NTSB could then use information about the speed and location of the train to determine exactly where Sanchez's train was when he took his eyes off the track ahead and whether that is what likely caused him to miss the signals.

Since the incident, California rail officials have banned all use of mobile phones by rail employees while they're on duty or face a $20,000 fine.