Amtrak is taking "full responsibility" for the crash of Train 188, whose derailment Tuesday night resulted in the deaths of eight passengers and injured more than 200, the rail operator said, according to the New York Post.

Joseph Boardman, the company's president and CEO, noted in a letter that Amtrak is fully cooperating with the federal investigation into the disaster, which the Wall Street Journal said may have been caused by by the train speeding at more than 100 miles an hour in a section of track for which the Federal Railroad Administration had set a 50-mile-per-hour speed limit.

"With truly heavy hearts, we mourn those who died. Their loss leaves holes in the lives of their families and communities," Boardman wrote. "Amtrak takes full responsibility and deeply apologizes for our role in this tragic event."

The operator's objective is "to fully understand what happened and how we can prevent a similar tragedy from occurring in the future," the executive added.

The lawyer for the engineer responsible for Train 188 had told ABC News on Thursday that Brandon Bostian, his client, "has absolutely no recollection of the incident or anything unusual" and "no explanation" for what caused the crash.

Bostian was cooperating with police and was willing to speak with the NTSB experts looking into the accident, the attorney, Robert Goggin, told the network.

On Friday, reports surfaced that Bostian had been railing online for years about the dangers of fatigued train operators, the New York Post noted.

"Everyone wants an extension to hours of service to avoid inconvenience, but what will you say when the crew that's been on duty for long­er than 12 hours accidentally falls asleep and passes a stop signal and rear-ends a loaded hazmat train, killing dozens or hundreds of people?" a man who identified himself as Bostian wrote in one of the posts.

The first funeral for one of the victims was held on Friday, reported the Associated Press. His family and friends said farewell to Justin Zemser, a 20-year-old midshipman at the United States Naval Academy, in a ceremony on Long Island.