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Two dead and more than 100 injured in South Carolina train crash Two dead and more than 100 injured in South Carolina train crash
(about 3 hours later)
Train carrying 139 passengers and eight crew collided with freight train at about 2.45amTrain carrying 139 passengers and eight crew collided with freight train at about 2.45am
Associated Press in Cayce, South CarolinaAssociated Press in Cayce, South Carolina
Sun 4 Feb 2018 14.17 GMTSun 4 Feb 2018 14.17 GMT
First published on Sun 4 Feb 2018 11.43 GMTFirst published on Sun 4 Feb 2018 11.43 GMT
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An Amtrak passenger train hit a freight train parked on a side track in South Carolina early on Sunday, killing two Amtrak employees and injuring more than 110 people, authorities said. It was the third deadly wreck involving Amtrak in less than two months. An Amtrak passenger train hit a freight train parked on a side track in South Carolina in the early morning darkness on Sunday, killing two Amtrak crew members and injuring more than 110 people, authorities said.
Amtrak’s Silver Star was on its way from New York to Miami with eight crew members and about 140 passengers around 2.45am when it plowed into the CSX train at an estimated 59mph, South Carolina governor Henry McMaster said. The dead were identified as engineer Michael Kempf, 54, of Savannah, Georgia, and conductor Michael Cella, 36, of Orange Park, Florida. Lexington County coroner Margaret Fisher’s voice caught as she released their names.
The wreck took place around a switchyard about 10 miles south of Columbia. The governor said investigators have yet to determine how the Amtrak train ended up on that stretch of track. “Any time you have anything that happens like that, you expect more fatalities,” Fisher said. “But God blessed us, and we only had the two.”
It was the third deadly wreck involving Amtrak in less than two months.
On Wednesday, a chartered Amtrak train carrying Republican members of Congress to a strategy retreat hit a garbage truck at a crossing in rural Virginia, killing one person in the truck and injuring six.
On 18 December, an Amtrak train ran off the rails along a curve during its inaugural run on a route south of Tacoma, Washington, killing three people and injuring dozens. The train was going nearly 80mph, more than twice the speed limit.
Early on Sunday, the Silver Star service was en route from New York to Miami with nearly 150 people aboard around 2.45am when it plowed into the CSX train at an estimated 59mph, South Carolina governor Henry McMaster said. The crash happened around a switchyard about 10 miles south of Columbia.
The governor said investigators had yet to determine how the Amtrak train ended up on that stretch of track.
“The CSX was on the track it was supposed to be on,” McMaster said.“The CSX was on the track it was supposed to be on,” McMaster said.
The National Transportation Safety Board sent investigators. The National Transportation Safety Board sent investigators to the scene.
McMaster said 116 people were taken to four hospitals. The main trauma hospital in the area had three patients in critical or serious condition, with the rest treated for minor injuries such as cuts, bruises and whiplash, said Steve Shelton, Palmetto Health director of emergency preparedness. Amtrak said that it was “deeply saddened” and was cooperating fully with the NTSB. It did not address the cause of the crash but said CSX maintains all the tracks and signal systems where the accident happened and controls access to the sidings and yards.
In a tweet, Donald Trump said: “My thoughts and prayers are with all of the victims involved in this mornings train collision in South Carolina. Thank you to our incredible First Responders for the work they’ve done!” CSX did not immediately return requests for comment.
Drone footage showed the locomotives of both trains crumpled, the Amtrak engine on its side. One car in the middle of the Amtrak train was snapped in half, forming a V off to the side of the tracks. The force of the crash dislodged a seat and knocked it on to passenger Tronia Dorsey’s legs, said her son, Andre Neblett, who had spoken to her. The 43-year-old woman, who escaped with minor scratches and bruises, described a terrifying scene inside the dark compartment, with people screaming and babies wailing, he said.
“It’s a horrible thing to see, to understand the force involved,” McMaster said after touring the scene. “It was chaos,” Andre Neblett said after driving in from North Carolina to retrieve his mother’s suitcase from a Red Cross shelter. “She said she was just waiting on somebody to get to her.”
Many passengers were asleep with the train began shaking violently and then slammed to a halt, passenger Derek Pettaway told CBS. “You knew we’d hit something or we’d derailed,” he said. In all, McMaster said, 116 people were taken to four hospitals. At least three patients were hospitalized in critical or serious condition, with nearly all the rest treated for minor injuries such as cuts, bruises and whiplash, authorities said.
Elliot Smith told the State newspaper he was staying with a friend when they heard what sounded like a propane tank exploding. Palmetto Health emergency room doctor Eric Brown said so many passengers were hurt that they were brought in on two buses, and a tent that had been set up as a waiting room to keep people separate from flu patients was turned into a triage area.
“The sound was so loud, you instantly knew it was bad,” he said, adding that he and his friend saw passengers limping along the tracks, while others tried to get everyone out of the cars. The locomotives of both trains were left crumpled, the Amtrak engine on its side. One car in the middle of the Amtrak train was snapped in half, forming a V off to one side of the tracks.
Amtrak officials gathered up luggage and other belongings and within hours put passengers aboard buses to their destinations. Before being sent on their way, those who were not hurt were taken to a shelter, and local businesses provided coffee and breakfast. “It’s a horrible thing to see, to understand the force involved,” McMaster said.
“We know they are shaken up quite a bit. We know this is like nothing else they have ever been through. So we wanted to get them out of the cold, get them out of the weather get them to a warm place,” sheriff’s spokesman Adam Myrick said. Many passengers were asleep when the train began shaking violently and then slammed to a halt, passenger Derek Pettaway told CBS. “You knew we’d hit something or we’d derailed,” he said.
On Wednesday, a chartered Amtrak train carrying Republican members of Congress to a strategy retreat slammed into a garbage truck at a crossing in rural Virginia, killing one person in the truck and injuring six others. Elliot Smith told the State newspaper of Columbia he was staying with a friend when they heard what sounded like a propane tank exploding. “The sound was so loud, you instantly knew it was bad,” he said.
On 18 December, an Amtrak train ran off the rails along a curve during its inaugural run on a route south of Tacoma, Washington, killing three people and injuring dozens. It was going nearly 80mph, more than twice the speed limit. Smith said he and his friend saw passengers limping along the tracks, while others tried to get everyone out of the cars.
Amtrak officials gathered up luggage and other belongings and within hours put passengers aboard buses to their destinations. Those who were not hurt were taken to a shelter set up at a middle school; local businesses provided coffee and breakfast.
“We know they are shaken up quite a bit,” sheriff’s spokesman Adam Myrick said. “We know this is like nothing else they have ever been through. So we wanted to get them out of the cold, get them out of the weather get them to a warm place.”
Democratic senator Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut said on Sunday the nation’s railroads must be made safer, declaring: “Business as usual must end.” He said proven technology, including positive train control, cannot continue to be delayed.
Positive train control is GPS-based technology that can automatically slow or stop speeding trains. Regulators have been pressing for years for such equipment and some railroads have installed it but the deadline has been pushed back repeatedly at the industry’s request.
The latest wreck again raised criticism about the safety culture of the nation’s passenger railway. Crashes are “becoming almost like an epidemic for Amtrak”, said Najmedin Meshkati, a USC engineering professor who has studied positive train control.
South CarolinaSouth Carolina
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