An employee of a public transit company was identified Tuesday as one of the three people killed when a speeding Amtrak train derailed in Washington state.

“Rail aficionado” Zack Willhoite, 35, of Washington-based Pierce Transit was among the fatalities Monday, said the chair of Pierce Transit’s advisory board, Chris Karnes.

“It’s heartbreaking to hear that @PierceTransit employee and rail aficionado Zack Willhoite did not survive the derailment,” Karnes said in a tweet.

“He helped our advisory committee with IT issues, and behind the scenes he was a writer and advocate for better transit for all. He will be missed,” Karnes wrote.

Amtrak Cascades Train 501 going from Seattle to Portland, which carried 80 passengers and five on-duty crew members, was speeding at 80 mph on a curved stretch of the track in a 30-mph zone when it careened off an overpass and plunged onto a busy Washington state highway, officials said.

NTSB board member Bella Dinh-Zarr said Monday night at a press briefing that information taken from the event data recorder in the rear locomotive confirmed the train’s speed.

Dinh-Zarr said “it’s too early to tell” why the train was going so fast.

Karnes, in a follow-up tweet, commented on the train’s high speed: “Positive Train Control would avert tragedies like this in the future.”

“Positive train control” can automatically slow a train heading into curves.

Scores of people were injured in the wreck.

With Post wires