Amtrak-crash death toll rises to 4
Hazards at Missouri crossing noted for years, say officials
MENDON, Mo. — The chief elected official in the Missouri county where an Amtrak train slammed into a dump truck said Tuesday that residents and county leaders have been pushing for a safety upgrade at the railroad crossing for nearly three years. Meanwhile, the toll from the accident rose to four deaths and 150 injuries.
The Missouri State Highway Patrol said people had been taken to 10 hospitals with injuries ranging from minor to serious. By Tuesday afternoon, at least 15 people remained hospitalized. The dead — three passengers and the truck driver — have not been identified.
Amtrak’s Southwest Chief was traveling from Los Angeles to Chicago Monday afternoon when it struck the truck and derailed at the crossing. Amtrak officials said about 275 passengers and 12 crew members were aboard.
National Transportation Safety Board Chairwoman Jennifer Homendy said at a news conference that the truck was owned by MS Contracting of Brookfield, Mo., and was transporting material to a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers project nearby.
Homendy said investigators will download recorder information to determine the speed of the train, when the horn was blown and if the emergency brake was deployed. She said some of that information could be released as early as Wednesday. The speed limit at the crossing is 90 mph.
The crossing in a rural area near Mendon in western Missouri has no lights or other signals to warn of an approaching train.
Chariton County Presiding Commissioner Evan Emmerich said in an email to The Associated Press that resident Mike Spencer first brought his concerns about the crossing to a Dec. 2, 2019, commission meeting.
He was told to contact the Missouri Department of Transportation’s Railroad Safety division. A week later, commissioners spoke with officials from the state agency and were told “it is on their plans to repair,” Emmerich said.
After that, Emmerich cited other efforts by the commission including a May 31 call to BNSF Railway, which owns the track, “to express our concerns with the visibility issue” at the crossing.
In January, the Missouri Department of Transportation submitted to the Federal Railroad Administration its “State Freight & Rail Plan” plan. It included a proposal to install lights and gates, along with roadway improvements.
Department of Transportation spokeswoman Linda Horn said the crossing near Mendon “is identified for funding for improvements.” She said the project has received approval in a four-year plan that runs through fiscal year 2026.
BNSF spokeswoman Lena Kent declined comment on “specific conversations” about upgrades to the crossing, citing the NTSB investigation, “however, I can tell you that BNSF has a proactive vegetation management program across our network,” she said.
Spencer told The Associated Press that he complained that the overgrowth of brush and steep incline from the road to the tracks makes it hard to see oncoming trains from either direction. Spencer said the crossing is especially dangerous for those driving farm equipment.
Homendy said “passive” crossings like the one near Mendon make up about half of all crossings in the U.S. She said there are 130,000 passive crossings nationwide and 3,500 in Missouri.
The NTSB has for years recommended actions such as closing passive crossings or adding gates, bells and other upgrades at passive crossings, Homendy said. She said the agency also has recommended technology to alert drivers to the presence of an oncoming train at crossings such as the one in Mendon that are on an incline.
“Lives could be saved,” she said.
Passengers included 16 youths and eight adults from two Boy Scout troops who were traveling home to Appleton, Wis., as well as high school students from Pleasant Ridge High School in Easton, Kan., who were headed to a Future Business Leaders of America conference in Chicago.
Amtrak is a federally supported company that operates more than 300 passenger trains daily in nearly every contiguous U.S. state and parts of Canada.