Amtrak train’s deadly collision with dump truck in Missouri caused $4 million in damages, NTSB report says
By Steve Almasy and Chuck Johnston, CNN
The deadly collision last month between an Amtrak train with 282 people on board and a fully loaded dump truck in Missouri caused $4 million in damage, the National Transportation Safety Board announced Thursday.
An NTSB preliminary report released Thursday cites Amtrak and BNSF Railway for the estimated damage amount.
The collision occurred about 12:40 p.m. CT on June 27 at a passive graded crossing, where there was a stop sign and a “crossbucks” sign indicating a railroad crossing.
After the train hit the truck, eight of its cars and two locomotives derailed.
Four people were killed in the collision near the town of Mendon. The victims were Billy Barton II, 53, the dump truck driver; train passengers Rochelle Cook, 57; Kim Holsapple, 56; and Binh Phan, 82, the Missouri State Highway Patrol has said. All but Phan were pronounced dead at the scene, the agency said. Phan died at a hospital later that same day, the highway patrol added.
There were 270 passengers and 12 crew members on the train.
The NTSB said in its preliminary report that BNSF authorizes train movement in the area.
“Train movements are coordinated by a BNSF train dispatcher located at the Dispatch Center in Fort Worth, Texas,” NTSB officials said. “Train movements on the Marceline Subdivision are governed by operating rules, special instructions, timetable instructions, and the signal indications of the traffic control system and supplemented with an overlaid positive train control (PTC) system.”
The positive train control system was operating at the time of the collision, according to the NTSB.
The Chicago-bound train was traveling at 89 mph in a 90 mph zone when the emergency brakes were applied. The train was still going at 87 mph when it hit the truck, which was loaded with large rocks and ended up in a ditch adjacent to the road.
In June, NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy said community members have raised concerns about the crossing where the crash took place.
The “very steep” incline can have an impact on large and heavy vehicles, she said, adding the agency is also looking into whether drivers could see trains approaching, referring to vegetation on or along the track and other factors that could hinder a vehicle driver’s vision.
The NTSB said Thursday, “Future investigative activity will focus on highway railroad grade crossing design specifications, railcar design, survival factors, and passenger railcar crashworthiness.”
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CNN’s Christina Maxouris contributed to this report.
