Thirty-two people were injured when an Amtrak train heading to Chicago from Los Angeles derailed in Kansas just after midnight this morning, according to a statement from Amtrak. Ashley Rogers, Gray County spokeswoman, said at least 29 people were hurt, but that none have life-threatening injuries. The train was carrying 131 passengers and a crew of 14, Amtrak says. Kansas Highway Patrol communication specialist Patricia Munford said five train cars flipped onto their sides.
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Buses and ambulances took uninjured passengers to a community building in the small town of Cimarron to wait while Amtrak made arrangements to take them to their destinations, according to Rogers. “We got out and saw that four or five cars in the back, the coach cars, were on their sides”, Daniel Szczerba says.
Two men transported by ambulance to Western Plains Medical Complex in Dodge City were later flown by medical helicopter to Amarillo, Texas, in critical condition, the hospital’s emergency room director said.
“You can tell people are exhausted”, Rogers said.
Amtrak warned it might stop or reroute the line because of disputes over who would pay to install safety technology created to prevent traffic accidents caused by human error. It wasn’t known yet whether any crew members were among the injured. He said the track had been inspected as recently as last Thursday, as per protocol.
The National Transportation Safety Board will also investigate and is sending a team to the scene.
Amtrak Southwest Chief Train 3, which operates from Chicago to Los Angeles, will detour from Newton, Kan., to Albuquerque, N.M., as a result of the crash. One of those victims had respiratory issues and the other had a head injury, she said. Amtrak now says that 32 people went to the hospital, and that all but three were discharged Monday morning. Officials report that the derailment, which involved several cars on the Amtrak’s Southwest Chief Train 4, injured at least 30.
Twenty-one-year-old Kelsey Wilson says she was traveling on the train to return to Truman State University in Kirksville, Missouri, when she was awoken early Monday.
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According to Amtrak, the accident occurred on the track owned by Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway Co. “They’ve had a long night”. “I would do it again”, said Andrea Moss who was headed back to St. Louis after visiting her sister in Kansas City.
