4 Dead, 150 Hurt After Chicago-Bound Amtrak Train Crashes In Missouri

CHARLTON COUNTY, MO — Four people died and at least 150 were injured after a Chicago-bound Amtrak train collided with a dump truck Monday in rural Missouri, according to authorities.

The incident occurred shortly before 1 p.m. at a railroad crossing on Porche Prairie Avenue in Charlton County near Mendon, which is about 100 miles northeast of Kansas City, according to the Missouri State Highway Patrol.

The truck driver died, as did three passengers, the state patrol said in an update Tuesday. Roughly 150 people were taken to 10 area hospitals for injuries ranging from minor to serious, according to the state patrol.

The train was traveling east from Los Angeles to Chicago on a BNSF Railroad track with nearly 300 people on board, according to Amtrak. Eight cars and two locomotives derailed after the train hit the truck, Amtrak reported.

The National Transportation Safety Board has launched an investigation into the incident, the agency said in a tweet.

Passengers were being accommodated on other trains and buses, according to Amtrak. A train that departed Los Angeles on Monday was set to terminate in Kansas City, while trains scheduled to leave Chicago on Tuesday and Wednesday were changed to originate in Kansas City. A train set to depart Los Angeles on Wednesday was canceled.

Among those who assisted in Monday's crash response were two Boy Scout troops from Appleton, Wisconsin, who were on the train when it derailed, according to WBAY. The Scouts broke windows, helped people out of the train, and comforted the truck driver in his final moments, WBAY reported.

The track speed in the area of the crash is nearly 80 mph, retired accident investigator Russell Quimby told the New York Times, which would have made it difficult for the train to stop.

Farmers who live near the crossing told the Kansas City Star they have long considered the area unsafe, citing steepness, vision-obstructing brush and lack of arms or signals at the crossing.

“I was certain that this was going to happen,” farmer Mike Spencer told the Star. “It was just a matter of time.”

The crossing is on a list to receive improvements from the Missouri Department of Transportation, the Star reported.