A train operator had alcohol in his system when a CTA Yellow Line train crashed into a slow-moving snow plow last year and injured at least 38 people, according to a report released by the National Transportation Safety Board. About an hour after the crash, a hospital test showed the 47-year-old operator of the train had a blood-alcohol level of 0.06, well above the federal limit of 0.02, according to the report that was published Aug. 8.That preliminary test was later confirmed by an addition test of the blood by a federal laboratory, which revealed his blood-alcohol level to be at 0.048, according to the report.The revelation that the train operator had alcohol in his system at the time crash comes nearly a year after the Nov. 16, 2023, crash. Twenty-three people were taken to hospitals and 15 refused care, officials said. The train operator, who was near the point of collision, was among the most critically injured. Related Passengers have no answers on cause of CTA Yellow Line crash The CTA on Thursday said it was still prohibited by the NTSB from discussing details of the ongoing investigation.In a statement, the CTA said it monitors employee drug and alcohol use by conducting 350 to 450 random tests of its employees monthly.But the train operator, hired by the CTA in 2021, had never taken a random drug and alcohol test during his CTA tenure before the crash, according to the report.The CTA said the operator remains employed by the agency but remains "out of service."The NTSB did not immediately reply to a request for comment. Related CTA Yellow Line crash caused by ‘design issue,’ National Transportation Safety Board says According to the report, the train operator told investigators he had no braking issues earlier in the route. But when the train got a red signal seconds before the crash, the operator said the brakes did not work as intended."I got the brake down, but I'm still feeling a little push on the train, so I'm like, I'm pulling it down," the operator told NTSB investigators. "I jump on the radio, [saying] 'train not stopping.'""I'm like well, my body's going to get crushed," the operator told investigators.A rail instructor who was tasked with working on the snow plow told investigators it looked like the operator tried to apply brakes to the train but that he knew a collision was inevitable. "I was praying and hoping that it would stop, but the speed that the train was coming, I already knew that it wasn't going to stop," the instructor said."[The instructor's manager] jumped up so fast, he said, 'Oh, my God, oh, my God,' the instructor continued telling investigators. "He was standing straight up and the next thing I know, the impact came and all I saw him do was fly out the window and I tried to grab him, but I couldn't get to him."The instructor hit his head and was unconscious for about two or three seconds, he said during the interview, but went to check on his manager as soon as he regained consciousness. Related Victims of Yellow Line crash hesitant to ride again "[I] just went down and stepped off the train and went down and checked on him and was praying that he was still alive," the instructor said. "I could hear him screaming down there on the right-of-way."The manager's hand was "severely cut up," the instructor told investigators. The instructor credited the operator with slowing down the train — potentially saving lives in the crash. "The operator is the real hero because if [he] didn’t slow down that train, I probably wouldn’t be here with you guys right now," the instructor told investigators to conclude his interview.