An Amtrak train that derailed in Missouri on Monday appeared to be a “mass casualty event,” a passenger told The Daily Beast as he was being shuttled away from the scene on a school bus provided by authorities.
Reached by phone, Ron Goulet of Flagstaff, Arizona, said he was uninjured and that the train, which was traveling from Los Angeles to Chicago, derailed after it hit a truck.
“They’ve got every rescue helicopter and crew here from every direction,” a shaken Goulet said. “We are in Chariton County, Missouri. The train toppled over on its side. Every seat was sold out full, and they were packing people into the observation car because they were so full. There are plenty of people on back boards being taken [away] by paramedics.”
The second Amtrak accident at a grade crossing without warning lights or gates in two days.
There was a Norfolk Southern freight train derailment in the Pittsburgh area a few weeks ago under similar circumstances involving a dump truck at such a crossing that put tank cars containing petroleum distillate into a creek that feeds into the Allegheny River. Fortunately there was little spillage and what there was was mostly contained by booms deployed in the creek.
The signs at such grade crossings used to say "STOP-LOOK-LISTEN" and that's still a requirement for school buses and commercial vehicles transporting hazardous cargo over the crossings. I wonder if it should be made the law for all vehicles. People should also recognize that it isn't easy to judge the speed of an oncoming train at a glance and trying to beat the train is gambling with their life and the lives and well-being of others.
Big Al
-------------------------------- Money seems to buy the most happiness when you give it away.
Why does everything have to be so complicated, all in the name of convenience. -ShiroKuro
A lifetime of experience will change a person. If it doesn't, then you're already dead inside. -MarkJ
Posts: 7466 | Location: Western PA | Registered: 20 April 2005
