3 Dead After Amtrak Train Strikes Dump Truck and Derails in Missouri

Antonio Planas and Doha Madani
Updated ·2 min read
2

Three people were killed when an Amtrak train struck a dump truck and derailed Monday afternoon in Mendon, Missouri, officials said.

Train 4 was carrying 243 passengers and 12 crew members while traveling from Los Angeles to Chicago, and the crash occurred at around 12:45 p.m., Amtrak said Monday in a statement. Mendon is about 115 miles northeast of Kansas City.

Two people on the train were killed, in addition to a person who was in the truck, Missouri State Highway Patrol Cpl. Justin Dunn said.

The collision happened at an “uncontrolled crossing,” Dunn said.

Dunn, who did not have a count of how many other people were injured, said several others were taken to area hospitals. Medical helicopters responded in addition to ambulance services from multiple counties.

Seven of the eight train cars derailed, Dunn said. Amtrak said two locomotives also derailed.

“This is the beginning of a lengthy investigation,” Highway Patrol Lt. Eric Brown said. “We have a lot more information we were seeking to need to obtain.”

Video from NBC affiliate KOMU of Columbia showed train cars on their sides, knocked off the tracks. Social media depictions of the accident appeared to show passengers crawling out of side windows to escape the wreckage.

Jim Mathews, president of Rail Passengers Association, said in a statement on Monday afternoon, “The entire Rail Passengers community is deeply saddened by this tragic loss.” The association serves more than 40 million rail passengers in the U.S.

“Right now, our thoughts and support should be with the passengers and Amtrak workers who have been injured, the families of those that have been killed, and the responders who are on the scene working to minimize injury and loss of life,” Mathews said.

It was the second consecutive day an Amtrak train had been involved in a fatal crash.

Three people were killed and two others injured after an Amtrak train crashed into a vehicle obstructing rail tracks near Brentwood, California, on Sunday, officials said.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com.