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Train Carrying Republican Lawmakers to Retreat Crashes Into Truck Train Carrying Republican Lawmakers to Retreat Crashes Into Truck
(about 3 hours later)
A train in Virginia carrying Republican lawmakers to a retreat on Wednesday crashed into a large truck, according to Amtrak. WASHINGTON — An Amtrak train carrying Republican lawmakers to their annual policy retreat crashed into a large truck in rural Virginia on Wednesday, killing one of the truck’s passengers.
The White House said that at least one person was killed and another seriously injured, and that none of the lawmakers or their staff members had been injured. President Trump was aware of the episode. Two other passengers from the truck were injured — one seriously — and taken to a hospital. Two members of the train’s crew and three passengers, including Representative Jason Lewis, Republican of Minnesota, were also taken to a hospital with minor injuries.
An Amtrak spokesman said that the train hit a vehicle on the tracks at 11:20 a.m. in Crozet, Va., northwest of Charlottesville. Two members of the train’s crew and two passengers were transported to a hospital with minor injuries, the spokesman said. The crash occurred around 11:20 a.m. about 10 miles northwest of Charlottesville. By early afternoon, the train was on its way back to Charlottesville, where buses were waiting to finish the trip. The National Transportation Safety Board was investigating.
“It was pretty jarring,” said Representative Tom Cole of Oklahoma, who described the incident as a “violent crash.” Republicans had chartered the train to carry them from Washington to the Greenbrier resort in West Virginia, where the party is holding its annual policy retreat through Friday. Several lawmakers who were aboard the train estimated that more than half of the Republican members of the House and Senate, including Speaker Paul D. Ryan, were on board, many with spouses.
Several members of Congress including Representative Pete Sessions of Texas, Representative Greg Walden of Oregon and Senator Steve Daines of Montana tweeted that they were safe. House Speaker Paul D. Ryan was aboard, but Senator Mitch McConnell, the majority leader, was not Mr. Ryan spoke by phone with President Trump to update him after the crash, White House officials said.
The members were headed to the Greenbrier Resort Hotel in West Virginia for their annual policy retreat. Many members drive rather than taking the train, or skip the gathering altogether. After the crash, two people on board said that the train was heading to Charlottesville and that members and staff would continue to the retreat by bus. The crash was a jarring start to an annual tradition that is intended to let lawmakers escape the noise of the Capitol for a few days to socialize and set priorities for the coming year. This year’s retreat is scheduled to include remarks by Mr. Trump, Vice President Mike Pence and other members of the Cabinet.
Senator Jeff Flake of Arizona said in an interview on MSNBC that he had been in one of the front cars of the train and that he had helped carry an injured man from the truck that was hit to an ambulance. Instead, lawmakers still tired from attending Tuesday night’s State of the Union address found themselves staring out the window at a violent crash scene, wondering if anyone had been hurt as what appeared to be a large, white garbage truck lay mangled on its side. The trailer of the truck was separated from its cab during the collision and garbage was strewn in all directions around the vehicle.
He and others aboard said that the crash recalled another dangerous episode that had befallen Republican lawmakers within the last year, when a lone gunman opened fire on members of the congressional baseball team in June, gravely wounding Rep. Steve Scalise. “It was pretty shocking,” said Representative Tom Cole of Oklahoma, who was seated in the last car of the train and had a clear view through the window. Mr. Cole was standing in the aisle at the time of impact and managed to stay on his feet, but others were knocked to the floor.
Senator Bill Cassidy, a first-term Republican from Louisiana, said he was sleeping when a loud noise and jarring motion awoke him. He saw fellow lawmakers and staff members knocked over in the train’s center aisle.
“I’m a physician and when you are a physician you are aware that at any moment bad things can happen,” Mr. Cassidy said in an interview later.
A group including Mr. Cassidy, Senator Jeff Flake of Arizona and a handful of former doctors, including Representatives Brad Wenstrup of Ohio, Michael C. Burgess of Texas, Phil Roe of Tennessee and Roger Marshall of Kansas all raced backward through the train to find an exit. Mr. Cassidy’s wife, a retired doctor, as well as a House doctor soon joined them.
Mr. Cole watched them stream through his car one by one and argue with Amtrak personnel to let them disembark.
“They were demanding, ‘Get me off this train,’” he said in an interview. “We weren’t going to stop them.”
“You think of them as members of Congress, but they’re trained physicians,” he added. “They really wanted off this train.”
At the crash site, Mr. Cassidy said, it was quickly clear that one of the three men who had been riding in the truck was already dead. From inside, Mr. Cole could see a tarp pulled over the man. Another was on his feet, hurt but not seriously.
Mr. Cassidy said he and the others focused on a third man in serious condition. They lifted his legs to try to get blood to his head and heart. Another performed CPR. Eventually paramedics arrived to take the man to the hospital.
“We worked on him for about 20 minutes, and then put him on a stretcher and carried him to the ambulance,” Mr. Flake said.
Authorities did not immediately identity the truck’s passengers. The mangled truck indicated that it belonged to Time Disposal, a waste and recycling collection service that operates in the area.
For lawmakers like Mr. Flake, the episode brought back memories of another still-fresh tragedy: when a lone gunman opened fire on members of the congressional baseball team last June, gravely wounding Representative Steve Scalise of Louisiana, members of the Capitol Police and a lobbyist.
“It was all too reminiscent of the baseball shooting,” Mr. Flake said. “Similar type of feeling.”
By the time the train was moving again, Mr. Cassidy said, the mood was somber.
“I don’t think anybody’s gathered their thoughts as to what to do next,” he said.
In a statement after the crash, the group putting on the conference said the retreat would proceed mostly as planned. The retreat would now include a moment of prayer for the victims, as well as a security briefing from the House sergeant-at-arms and the Capitol Police.