Multiple fatalities reported in Missouri train derailment

[TLO]

CNN
—
There are multiple fatalities and at least 50 people who were injured after an Amtrak train derailed Monday in Missouri, Eric McKenzie, the superintendent with Chariton County Ambulance Service, told CNN.

Amtrak said in a statement the train collided with a truck at a public crossing near the city of Mendon at about 1:42 p.m. CT.

Eight cars and two locomotives left the track “after striking a truck that was obstructing a public crossing near Mendon, Missouri,” company officials said in an updated statement.

Contra Costa Sheriff deputies investigate the scene after an Amtrak train collided with a vehicle in Brentwood, Calif., on Sunday, June 26, 2022. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group via AP)
Amtrak train collides with vehicle at California intersection without crossing arms, killing three
Amtrak had said earlier that there were approximately 243 passengers and 12 crew members onboard the train.

Cpl. Justin Dunn, a spokesperson for Missouri State Highway Patrol Troop B, said authorities are still trying to ascertain the number of fatalities. The train hit a dump truck, he added.

A school has been turned into a triage center for victims with minor injuries, he said.

[KChiefs1]

Awful.

Trains need to be banned.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[srvy]

So far best aerial cam view. The dump truck driver no doubt didn't survive that.

[tredadda]

That is rough. Prayers to the family members of those lost today.

[Bearcat]

Originally Posted by KChiefs1

Awful.

Trains need to be banned.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

The important thing here is it gave you the chance to be snarky about politics.

[Baby Lee]

Originally Posted by srvy

So far best aerial cam view. The dump truck driver no doubt didn't survive that.

Couple things I've heard, but not sourced yet.

1. My dad related that he was listening to coverage from Johnny Rowlands who flew his chopper up for logistics and transport [may be the source for your video, I don't know]. Said that the intersection was [recently?] elevated to keep the rail line out of the flood plain, and the tree line surrounding coalesced to give terrible line of sight at that spot. I don't know specifics beyond that, but dad got the sense that the driver of the dump truck was driving a fully operating vehicle and got taken by surprise by the oncoming train [as opposed to a stall or malfunction stranding them on the tracks].

2. Other coverage states that one of the three fatalities confirmed at present was a PASSENGER in the dump truck, and the other two were passengers on the train, . . . so as it stands in a fluid situation the driver is not a current fatality.

[notorious]

Comments on Youtube are pointing out the front of the train has no damage.

They are insinuating that the truck T-boned the train.

Who knows.

[DJ's left nut]

Originally Posted by IowaHawkeyeChief

It looks like a non-light RR crossing that are prevalent in rural areas. You have to be diligent and always look both ways to make sure you are clear before crossing. This can happen when crops are taller, but this looks as though the guy was hauling rock and didn't see the train and the timing is so hard to fathom...

As a kid driving around with my friends in rural areas where they had family spreads, I was always told to stop at those unsupervised crossings and roll my windows down.

You'll hear them before you see them.

And I do it most of the time still but certainly don't bat 1.000. It's a tough scene because it feels very much like a 'but for the grace of God go I' sort of moment. I can see a scenario where the driver didn't really dick up and instead was just unfamiliar with the situation and got really unlucky.

[srvy]

Originally Posted by notorious

Comments on Youtube are pointing out the front of the train has no damage.

They are insinuating that the truck T-boned the train.

Who knows.

Damned geeez

[srvy]

Originally Posted by Baby Lee

Couple things I've heard, but not sourced yet.

1. My dad related that he was listening to coverage from Johnny Rowlands who flew his chopper up for logistics and transport [may be the source for your video, I don't know]. Said that the intersection was [recently?] elevated to keep the rail line out of the flood plain, and the tree line surrounding coalesced to give terrible line of sight at that spot. I don't know specifics beyond that, but dad got the sense that the driver of the dump truck was driving a fully operating vehicle and got taken by surprise by the oncoming train [as opposed to a stall or malfunction stranding them on the tracks].

2. Other coverage states that one of the three fatalities confirmed at present was a PASSENGER in the dump truck, and the other two were passengers on the train, . . . so as it stands in a fluid situation the driver is not a current fatality.

It wouldn't surprise me at all if that isn't pretty accurate.

[srvy]

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut

As a kid driving around with my friends in rural areas where they had family spreads, I was always told to stop at those unsupervised crossings and roll my windows down.

You'll hear them before you see them.

And I do it most of the time still but certainly don't bat 1.000. It's a tough scene because it feels very much like a 'but for the grace of God go I' sort of moment. I can see a scenario where the driver didn't really dick up and instead was just unfamiliar with the situation and got really unlucky.

Those Amtrak trains and cars are whisper quiet compared to freight trains. I've surveyed locating centerline gauge tracks and had them surprise me in a highspeed curve with those concrete ties and it's just a whistling woosh. It will scare you pretty good.

[Simply Red]

Prayers up and out - sorry to read of these types. Man...

[neech]

Probably the most excitement that sleepy, one horse town has had in decades.

[DJ's left nut]

Originally Posted by srvy

Those Amtrak trains and cars are whisper quiet compared to freight trains. I've surveyed locating centerline gauge tracks and had them surprise me in a highspeed curve with those concrete ties and it's just a whistling woosh. It will scare you pretty good.

Also fair - I can't say I recall ever having one of the Amtrak's come down the track. Makes sense that a passenger train would focus on noise reduction.

But honestly, just rolling the windows down and hearing a freight train when you can't see the damn thing yet will spook you a bit.

As has been noted and as I'm sure you're well aware - lines of sight in around those rural crossings are often pretty lousy.

Combine bad sightlines with a fast, quiet train and it's a recipe for this sort of thing. Do you know if passenger trains have the same sort of requirement to blow a whistle through towns or is that not even a real requirement? I grew up in a place called Parkville in the northland; little river town (that's grown up a bit since I left) and there was a train that came through the bottoms there every night around 9p and it would lay on that whistle every time. You'd hear it come up the valley behind Park College and into my neighborhood.

One would think you'd wanna get on a whistle if you're in charge of a quiet train.

[DaFace]

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut

Also fair - I can't say I recall ever having one of the Amtrak's come down the track. Makes sense that a passenger train would focus on noise reduction.

But honestly, just rolling the windows down and hearing a freight train when you can't see the damn thing yet will spook you a bit.

As has been noted and as I'm sure you're well aware - lines of sight in around those rural crossings are often pretty lousy.

Combine bad sightlines with a fast, quiet train and it's a recipe for this sort of thing. Do you know if passenger trains have the same sort of requirement to blow a whistle through towns or is that not even a real requirement? I grew up in a place called Parkville in the northland; little river town (that's grown up a bit since I left) and there was a train that came through the bottoms there every night around 9p and it would lay on that whistle every time. You'd hear it come up the valley behind Park College and into my neighborhood.

One would think you'd wanna get on a whistle if you're in charge of a quiet train.

Passenger trains have the same whistle requirements as freight trains as far as I know, so presumably there would have been a warning. I rode Amtrak from Denver to San Francisco a month ago, and horns were definitely frequent.

[Bwana]

I have a cousin that recently retired, who was a train engineer for Amtrak for decades. His route skirted Glacier National Park, up through northern Idaho and onto Seattle. He has some pretty wild stories after all the time. Hitting boulders, moose, bears, cows, you name it. He had some close calls with vehicles and humans along the tracks as well, but got lucky there. The worst thing he had to deal with, was the boulders, according to him. He said if you hit a big one, it will derail an engine in a heartbeat.