(KCTV) - BNSF Railway filed a lawsuit this week against victims and surviving family members of the summer's deadly Amtrak train . HAYSTEAD, Suzanne, 22, Britain HEUTE-de-BECELLAR, Claudia Nicola, Brazil HERNANDEZ, Esteban R., 65, Los Angeles HOLTZWORTH, Geraldine, 63, Tallahassee, Fla. HOLTZWORTH, William John, 73, Tallahassee, Fla. LEONARD, Mary Ellen, 84, St. Petersburg, Fla. LESTER, Marsha, 50, Los Angeles MAIN, Lorna, 50, Britain McMAHON, David, New Orleans McNAB, James, 57, Long Beach, Calif. McNAB, Janice, 55, Long Beach, Calif. NEWTON, Eric, 44, Kissimmee, Fla. PEARCE, Billie Patricia, 62, Reynoldsville, Pa. POOLE, Dorothy, Tallahassee, Fla. POOLE, Harold, 68, Tallahassee, Fla. POWELL, Olga, Tampa, Fla. QUAINTANCE, Ronald, 44, Jackson, Miss. KANSAS CITY, Mo. The collision forced the unsecured end of the bridge span approximately 3 feet (1m) out of alignment and severely kinked the track. As a result, the track circuit controlling the bridge approach block signals remained closed (intact) and the nearest signal continued to display a clear (green) aspect. Finally, he said, someone opened a safety exit and the water poured in, cold and fast. This is a digitized version of an article from The Timess print archive, before the start of online publication in 1996. "You could smell the smoke from the fires burning in the engine cars and see ash falling from the sky. The train derailed due to improperly installed track. This might have given the Amtrak engineer sufficient time to stop his train or at least reduce its speed in an effort to minimize the accident's severity. [4][5], As a result of its investigation of this accident, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) made a comprehensive series of recommendations, on September 19, 1994, to the U.S. Department of Transportation, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the U.S. Coast Guard, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Amtrak, the American Waterways Operators, Inc., the Warrior & Gulf Navigation Company, the Association of American Railroads, and the American Short Line Railroad Association. Russ explained that plans originally called for Ernie Russ to get off the train in Mobile. Below, a small section of a coach peeked up from the surface of the water; next to it, another coach rose vertically from the bayou. Their Amtrak train to Chicago collided with a dump truck at a crossing killing the two women and another passenger who succumbed on Tuesday - 82-year-old Binh Phan, of Kansas City, Missouri. [3] After the investigation, he was not found to be criminally liable for the accident. A fire of unknown cause took place in a passenger car. 2023 Advance Local Media LLC. Loomis, a former Coast Guardsman, was sentenced to 210 months in prison without parole for causing the Aug. 12, 1992, crash of Amtrak's Colonial in . Tom Russ, brother of Sunset Limited crash victim Ernie Russ, speaks on Thursday, Sept. 22, 2016. Central Asian airlines are seizing opportunities from Russia's closed airspace, with airline traffic into the region booming in the year since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, executives and analysts said. (Lawrence Specker/LSpecker@AL.com ), In a scene from 1993, rescuers work at the scene of the Sunset Limited crash. Accompanied by her parents on her first train trip, 11-year-old Andrea Chancey couldn't sleep despite the steady rocking of the Amtrak coach. HISTORY reviews and updates its content regularly to ensure it is complete and accurate. Ivory, a Texas oil industry worker who helped save Chancey all those years ago, has a theory. Four of the eight coaches also plunged into the bayou. At one point, Watts thought he would die. Its frustrating when you know that there are survivors in need and you cant help.. I guess I was physically moving, Watts said later, but I wasnt mentally coherent until the water rose to my waist and I realized, Hey this is serious, this is not a damn dream. . It left Los Angeles on Sunday, changed crews in New Orleans and headed toward Alabama. said the information gathered so far supported the theory that the trestle might have been loosened by being hit by the barges. People shouted at him, he said, asking him to look for medicine and purses. The barges were lashed three wide and two deep, he said, and may have been too large to be legally using the narrow waterway. Dr. G. P. Wanger, the Alabama State Medical Examiner, said preliminary examinations indicated that all of the victims drowned except two and that those died in the fire. Three people have died and at least 50 injured after an Amtrak Southwest Chief train hit a dump truck at a public crossing and derailed near Mendon, north of Marshall. The train struck two CSX workers walking along their train. The Empire Builder, which runs between Chicago and Seattle-Portland, derailed near the Canadian border at around 4 p.m. local time Saturday, killing three of the 141 passengers and leaving seven. Archer said the barges were not supposed to be in the waterway. He said concrete had been broken away from the foundation of the trestle and that pieces of concrete were found on the barge. They had no idea what had happened." An Amtrak train headed to Miami derails near Mobile, Alabama, killing 47 people on September 22, 1993. 0. Miles away, Willie C. Odom steered a towboat as it pushed barges up a river that was getting foggier by the mile. Then the train was skidding on the track. He said the F.B.I. "I thought it was the coolest thing," said Chancey, speaking with The Associated Press in her first interview since the accident. Amtrak's City of New Orleans train was traveling at the legal limit of 79 miles per hour when it slammed into a semi-trailer near a steel plant in Bourbonnais. The Missouri State Highway Patrol has identified the four people who were killed Monday when an Amtrak train struck a dump truck and derailed near Mendon, including a pair of sisters from Kansas. Buy newspaper front pages, posters and more. All three locomotives and four of the eight cars on the train were off the bridge and in the bayou. Despite the displacement of the bridge, the continuously welded rails did not break. https://www.nytimes.com/1993/09/27/us/victims-of-amtrak-accident-near-mobile.html. Mr. Archer noted, as did Secretary Pena, that at least one locomotive had "literally flown through the air. On September 22, 1993, an Amtrak train derailed on the CSX Transportation Big Bayou Canot Bridge near Mobile, Alabama, United States.It was caused by displacement of a span and deformation of the rails when a tow of heavy barges collided with the rail bridge eight minutes earlier. "Whoever it was was being consumed by the water at that time," he recalled. Occasionally the digitization process introduces transcription errors or other problems; we are continuing to work to improve these archived versions. He climbed through the window and out onto the timber. Archer, special agent in charge of the Mobile office of the FBI, said his investigators were looking into three possible causes: sabotage, structural defects and the likelihood that the bridge had been rammed by barges. Her mother "pushed me and I fell and I saw my dad fall and when the water came in it was like, 'Wow," she said. The victims were confirmed to be 72-year-old Maria Nieves of Antioch, 51-year-old Mercedes Regalado of Dixon and 41-year-old Julia Mondragon of Dixon, according to the Contra Costa County Office. Suddenly I was bumped on the floor, and you could hear the brakes squealing, he said afterward. The train struck a dump truck at a grade crossing. 'I survived the deadliest train crash in Amtrak's history' When the Sunset Limited sleeper train to Savannah, Georgia derailed, 47 people died in the horrific crash that followed. When the Civil War broke out in 1861, read more, Captain Ernest Medina is acquitted of all charges relating to the My Lai Massacre of March 1968. Chancey sometimes wonders why she lived when so many others died. An episode of the National Geographic Channel documentary series Seconds From Disaster examined the accident. Like almost everyone, Mike Dopheide, 26, of Omaha, Neb., was asleep. 34083, sailed off the end of the bridge and into the bayou. There were a lot of old people on the train. [4][5], At 2:53a.m.,[1] Amtrak's Sunset Limited train, powered by three locomotives (one GE Genesis P40DC number 819 in the front and two EMD F40PHs, numbers 262 and 312) en route from Los Angeles, California, to Miami, Florida, with 220 passengers and crew aboard, crossed the bridge at around 70 miles per hour (110km/h) and derailed at the kink. The Sunset Limited, which extended service from New Orleans to Miami in April, was billed as the nation's first transcontinental passenger train. Chancey remembers tumbling as her double-decker coach, Car No. ", "It actually angled out away from the track several degrees," Mr. Archer said, "and it gives you the impression that it was literally launched off of the bridge at 70 miles per hour." WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. President Joe Biden is once again telling the story about his trip with an Amtrak conductor back when he . Were looking at them, he said, because one of those barges has a big dent in it.. He said that on that night in 1993, an emergency call sent him to Saraland, where he joined officers heading out by boat. Amtrak said anyone with questions about friends and family aboard the train should call 800-523-9101. Aboard the same train after missing a flight, Ken . Immediately prior to the accident, a barge being pushed by the towboat Mauvilla (owned and operated by Warrior and Gulf Navigation of Chickasaw, Alabama) had made a wrong turn on the Mobile River and entered the Big Bayou Canot, an un-navigable channel of water crossed by a CSX Transportation rail bridge. Dopheide was suddenly aware of the silence. The National Transportation Safety Board sought to interview the pilot and three crew members of a tugboat that had been pushing six barges, one of which officials say hit the bridge in fog shortly before the train wreck. The "miracle child," as the media called her, went to live with the family of her mother's older sister in Lancaster, Ohio, until she was 18. [1] Following a recommendation to maintain a record of onboard passenger numbers, Amtrak now records passenger lists electronically. From there, they were taken to a lumber mill in the nearby town of Chickasaw. The train derailed due to spreading of the rail. "What we are exploring," Mr. Archer said, "is the possibility that the barge might have hit the bridge before the passenger train came through, but it is up to the U.S. Attorney in Mobile to say whether a crime has been committed." One was on top of the other.(Press-Register file), Sheriff's flotilla volunteer John Lamb said the 1993 crash stands out in his long career. Hours after the accident, one of the sleeping cars still hung from the 50 feet of the trestle still standing. Forty-seven people were killed and 103 more were injured. The train derailed due to debris from a landslide. The bayou bridge should have been in better shape to begin with, she said, and Amtrak has had too many accidents in the years since. But she does remember a few people who got her out of the wreckage, including Ivory, who had decided to take the train to North Carolina to see his wife only after missing a commercial flight. "My dad was sitting in front of my mom and I was sitting next to my mom, and for some reason I couldn't sleep," said Chancey. When the car finally came to rest, Paiz said, Russell pulled out a man who had gotten trapped under a seat. Once survivors and victims were plucked out of a river delta so remote it's called "America's Amazon," the National Transportation Safety Board opened an investigation. Kennedy believed that the Peace Corps could provide a new and unique weapon in the war against communism. Last week Federal officials criticized CSX for inadequate track inspection relating to a 1991 derailment in which eight Amtrak passengers were killed and 65 were injured. BNSF Railway Co. has asked a federal court to require victims of a deadly Amtrak crash in Missouri to pursue settlements through arbitration, rather than lawsuits. On board the Sunset Limited, Andrea Chancey was trying to doze off as the train click-clacked through the night. On Monday, it cost Loomis 17+ years of his life. TRAIN CRASH", "Stockton Train Crash Kills 3, Injures Dozens", "Amtrak, Family Settle Over Fatal Collision", "Man Gets 17 1/2-year Term In 1992 Amtrak Derailment", "Investigators piece together Nevada Amtrak crash", "Sheriff's office: At least 3 killed in Amtrak derailment", "NTSB Investigation of Amtrak Southwest Chief Derailment Under Way, BNSF Track Opens, Lawsuits Filed", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=List_of_accidents_on_Amtrak&oldid=1140653481. Traveling at 72 mph (116 kph), the lead locomotive reached the bridge and jumped the track at the spot where the rails were bent by the barge collision. Meanwhile, Amtrak's Sunset Limited was running a little behind schedule due to minor repairs in New Orleans. "The flames were higher than the trees," he said. At one point during the afternoon, the search for bodies and survivors was suspended when it became apparent that a crane was needed to stabilize one of the railroad cars before divers could enter it safely. At the scene of the Sunset Limited crash in 2003, he said, "They let me out on the bank and I crawled up through the briars and rip-rap" with another man to begin assisting passengers. The tugboat pushing them might have taken a wrong channel during the foggy night, he said. The bodies, presumed to be three Amtrak engineers, were taken to the state medical examiner's office for positive identification, Coast Guard Capt. The highway patrol said Kim Holsapple, 56 . One was killed read more, In an important victory for his Cold War foreign policy, President John F. Kennedy signs legislation establishing the Peace Corps as a permanent government agency. Willie Odeon, another employee of Warrior and Gulf, was driving the boat, but did not know how to use the radar system. "The only light was from the fire," Mr. Altosino said, "and it was so hot that I had to splash water on my back to cool off. Published correction ran Saturday, October 23, 1993.A headline in Friday's Local section incorrectly said Amtrak was directed by a federal jury to pay damages to victims of the April 1992 . (assistant engineer) WALKER, Dorothy, 62, Novato, Calif. "They were disoriented. The nose of the 80-foot lead locomotive was buried in bayou silt. The Missouri State Highway Patrol announced Wednesday the names of four people who died in connection to Monday's Amtrak train . Oh, my God! a woman shouted. The train derailed due to a broken axle on a locomotive. ", The medical units worked from the deck of a barge provided by the Scott Paper Company, which owns the tug Scott Pride. Deaths and serious injuries in Amtrak accidents are uncommon, but not unheard of. There was a kid in the water having trouble, Paiz said. The lead locomotive embedded itself nose-first into the canal bank and the other two locomotives, together with the baggage car, sleeping car and two of the six passenger cars, plunged into the water. The train derailed after colliding with a dump truck obstructing a railroad crossing. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Advance Local. 1993 Amtrak crash survivor relives each new one. The train struck a rail protruding from a work train. Were going to die.. In the very early morning hours of September 22, the train was traveling through Alabama. Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site. I see the fire. No such conversion had ever been performed but the span had not been adequately secured against unintended movement. The train derailed due to a cracked wheel. Out of 220 people aboard, 42 passengers and five crew members died; more than 100 more were injured. Three locomotives pulling eight cars left Mobile at 1:30 a.m. heading toward Birmingham across a swampy area. The car we were in sank, said Robert Watts, 61, a retired fire captain from Placerville, Calif. Rochelle Cook . It served as a temporary morgue. Two locomotives and eight cars derailed when the train hit the rear of the truck, injuring more than half of its 275 passengers and 12 crew members, the agency said. (AP) An Amtrak passenger train traveling from Los Angeles to Chicago struck a dump truck Monday in a remote area of Missouri, killing three people and injuring dozens more as rail cars tumbled off the tracks and landed on their sides, officials said. (Press-Register file), Among those who made Thursday's voyage was John M. Lamb, a volunteer with the Mobile County Sheriff's Flotilla. Ivory, too, holds nothing against Odom. The list was compiled from information provided by Amtrak, the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences and bureau reports of The Associated Press: ANDERSON, Shirley, 55, Portland, Ore. BALL, Maxine, 69, Gibsonton, Fla. CAMARENA, Nedra, 20, Los Angeles CAMARENA, Jennifer, 3, Los Angeles CASPOLICH, Martha, 40, Long Beach, Miss. The accident, the deadliest in Amtrak's history, was caused by a negligent towboat. 1:23. Born with severe cerebral palsy, their girl would need assistance the rest of her life; she still uses a wheelchair and has home health-care aides who cook and clean for her. The Amtrak Sunset Limited from Los Angeles to Miami with 206 people aboard hurtled off an aging trestle early Wednesday and plunged like a steel stone into a foggy Alabama bayou, killing 44 and. Fire spread to the wood-and-steel trestle. The Churchill County Sheriff's. Following is a complete list of the 47 people who are known to have died Wednesday in the crash of an Amtrak train near Mobile, Ala. The engineer, who was found to have been smoking marijuana, received a five-year prison sentence. "I didn't ever get to see who handed her up, but I assumed it was her parents.". I hear the screaming," said Chancey, now 36. "Some people were hysterical. The railroad company that owns the track where a deadly Amtrak derailment took place in June near Mendon, Missouri has filed a request to force arbitration for victims of the crash and to. (AP) Investigators probing a fatal 2021 Amtrak derailment in Montana disclosed Tuesday that the railroad track was bent along a curve near the accident site, and the problem got worse as freight trains traveled over the area before the crash. Working on a Tug. The accident occurred about 15 miles north of Mobile, where the train had just stopped. (Lawrence Specker/LSpecker@AL.com), In 1993, it took first responders an authorities some time to ascertain the full extent of the catastrophe. Seated next to him in one of the train cars was Fred Russell, 70, of Indio, Calif. There was suddenly a roller coaster sensation, Paiz said. After helping her out a window, he said, he climbed out the window and swam for what remained of the trestle, where he hung on for about an hour, watching the engines burn 40 to 50 feet away. Mr. Pena appeared to discount the possibility that Amtrak itself or CSX Inc., which owns the rail bed, were culpable. (Lawrence Specker/LSpecker@AL.com ), Twenty-three years after the Sunset Limited crash, there's little to distinguish the bridge over Bayou Canot. Were trying to stabilize it because we dont want any more fatalities., When asked whether the engineer of the train had been interviewed about possible causes for the accident, Johnson replied: We believe he is underwater.. Shortly before 3 a.m. Wednesday, it approached the trestle over Bayou Canot about 10 miles north of Mobile. The train derailed on a curve while leaving. He had gotten on in Los Angeles after visiting his sister in Highland Park. It was pitch black, the only light coming from burning diesel fuel just yards away. March 17, 1993 Amtrak Silver Star hits gasoline tanker. Andrew Stabler, the captain, was sleeping as the towboat and barges made their way up the Mobile River. It was a long drop to the water below. Its crew members were still inside. The train collided with a CSX freight train. Anyone can read what you share. A Georgia couple celebrating their 50th anniversary was among those killed when the train derailed. Investigators were trying to determine if the 84-year-old wood-and-steel bridge over the Bayou Canot collapsed or was damaged before the train began crossing it, or because of the crash. ", Many passengers had to be pulled from the water or climb over the muddy and grassy banks of the area, which is home to alligators, snakes and ospreys. Investigators said 163 people survived. The Sunset Limited's locomotives, baggage car and two of six passenger cars had gone.
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