FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE June 24, 2011, 1:15 p.m. PDT
ATK-11-095 Contact: Media Relations 510 238.4360
TRUCK STRIKES AMTRAK TRAIN IN NEVADA California Zephyr
OAKLAND -- At about 11:20 a.m. PDT time, a semi tractor-trailer rig drove into the side of an Amtrak train at a public railroad crossing east of Reno, Nev.
There are reports of injuries to Amtrak passengers and crew. At the time, there were approximately 204 passengers and 14 crew members aboard Train 5, the westbound California Zephyr, enroute from Chicago to Emeryville, Calif.
Amtrak managers and representatives of Union Pacific, the track owner, are enroute to the scene, along with emergency responders. We are saddened by any injury and appreciate the emergency response by local and state agencies.
We ask the news media to be respectful of our customers, our employees and their families.
Persons with questions about their friends and family aboard this train have a special number to call for information: 800-523-9101.
Posts: 2236 | From: Evanston, Ill. and Ontonagon, Mich. | Registered: Feb 2007
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The AP is reporting that the semitruck driver and one person aboard the train were killed, and that ambulances are transporting injured to hospitals.
Posts: 2236 | From: Evanston, Ill. and Ontonagon, Mich. | Registered: Feb 2007
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Reno Gazette-Journal reports that the conductor was killed and that there are some 150 injuries, mostly minor. Also that several passengers are trapped in two burning cars. Medevac helos are on the scene.
Posts: 2236 | From: Evanston, Ill. and Ontonagon, Mich. | Registered: Feb 2007
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"Raw" video; this may be considered "intense'.
Posts: 9975 | From: Clarendon Hills, IL USA (BNSF Chicago Sub MP 18.71) | Registered: Apr 2002
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Gee this makes the accident that my wife and I were involved look like just hitting a speed bump. My condolences for those killed or injured.
Posts: 229 | From: Long Beach CA | Registered: Jan 2007
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My heart sank when I heard the news. I've taken this trip so many times, and this is one of those areas where I've sometimes wondered "what if?"---meaning, "what if an emergency happens here?", because of how remote the area is. Unfortunately, I also know of the Conductor who was killed. I did not know her personally, but she was a familiar face from my AmTravels over the years. I'm almost positive that she also used to work out of the Oakland crew base---I remember her from way back when (maybe 10 or so years ago). The video and pictures just look horrible.
Posts: 2355 | From: Pleasanton, CA | Registered: Apr 2007
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I talked to a Amtrak employee and found out more details then most people knew at the time. Very scary, my heart goes out with the crew.
Posts: 465 | From: elgin (s-line) | Registered: Dec 2008
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Some 22 hours after the incident, the death toll still is being reported variously as "at least two" and "five confirmed." This is curious, but there may be a good reason for it -- and for Amtrak's refusal to give a fatality count.
I understand that normally in an event like this there is an incident commander who delegates a spokesman to deal with the media and that all questions must go to that spokesman. But in this case a fire chief, a state trooper and a generic "law enforcement authority" have been quoted, all giving different death counts. This makes me wonder if law enforcement in that part of Nevada hasn't quite got its incident act together in the press relations department. (No evidence, however, that the incident response otherwise wasn't rapid and professional.)
It could be that the scene inside the burned cars is so grim that an accurate count hsn't been possible.
Posts: 2236 | From: Evanston, Ill. and Ontonagon, Mich. | Registered: Feb 2007
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I've since found out that the Conductor is the person who also worked out of Oakland at one time. She was a professional.
From the witness statements in the various news articles, my guess is that there are charred remains inside the 2 Superliners. It happened so fast and was so violent that I would imagine that we won't know the true fatality count for a few more days. I'm not sure why they don't have a single point of contact or PIO yet. Since the NTSB is reportedly not on-scene yet, I could easily see different agencies thinking it is "theirs", thus the different reporting coming from the scene. The NHP thinks it's theirs, the fire dept thinks it's theirs, UP thinks it's theirs, Amtrak think it's theirs, etc....Definitely not the first time that has happened.
Posts: 2355 | From: Pleasanton, CA | Registered: Apr 2007
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Grim footage indeed..... Condolences to those affected and thanks to the emergency response people who have the thankless job of trying to make things right again.
-------------------- David Pressley
Advocating for passenger trains since 1973!
Climbing toward 5,000 posts like the Southwest Chief ascending Raton Pass. Cautiously, not nearly as fast as in the old days, and hoping to avoid premature reroutes. Posts: 4203 | From: Western North Carolina | Registered: Feb 2004
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I am so saddened for all involved. This brings to mind the City of New Orleans accident at Bourbonais, IL a few years back...very sad scene. I imagine there were several fatalities in the two badly burned cars as it had to happen so fast and be so intense. Hopefully some lives were saved by it being around lunch time. This surely saved some crew members who otherwise would have been in the transition sleeper. By the way, I saw the car numbers of the following cars in the video: baggage 1257, crew sleeper 39013 (burned up), coach 34033 (badly burned).
Posts: 561 | Registered: Jul 2003
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For those following this news story, something odd is going on. As Henry noted previously, the flow of information is odd. By now, that should have been ironed out. Additionally, one of the Reno TV stations had video on their website that showed Homeland Security agents taking evidence photos of something that they had covered up with a portable tent. Maybe it was a dead body---I really don't know. But that video is gone from the website, and there has been NO mention of HomSec being on-scene. The number of fatalities has not been released yet, and I have a feeling the actual number killed is going to be a shocking number that is not reported yet. Stay tuned....
Posts: 2355 | From: Pleasanton, CA | Registered: Apr 2007
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Okay, I'm being told now that 28 people are unaccounted for. This was from the NTSB briefing, which I did not see...Wow...
Posts: 2355 | From: Pleasanton, CA | Registered: Apr 2007
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Skid marks show the driver of the truck slammed on his brakes, sliding more than 300 feet before hitting the train, Weener said.
And this update just now:
(CNN) -- Six people were killed when a tractor-trailer truck slammed into a Chicago-to-California Amtrak passenger train at a railroad crossing east of Reno, Nevada, authorities said late Saturday.
posted
The second comment on the california beat reference is from a truck driver who states that the visitility at the crossing is excellent.
There is another article on the news that estimatad the missing at around 45 and sstated that firemen saw burned bodies that they were not able to reach due to the damage to the structure of the coach.
I put together a preliminary summary of the situation. Some of what is written is in response to issues raised elsewhere. Here it is:
The truck was empty. It appears to have been a double trailer, or else a fairly long single unit with a trailer behind that.
Here is what I get out of what I see in the pictures and the map plus some things pulled out of what others have said. There is quite a bit I have read that comes out of what people know from their own interests and professions that help in understanding what happened.
Location on the railroad: About milepost 318.6. Somebody should be able to give that more exactly since it can be read off the housing at the road crossing. It appears from Google Maps to be about 4/10 mile west of the west end of Ocala siding, which is at milepost 319.0. From the 2005 ETT, the speed limit here is 79P/70F. Given the terrain, all trains not using the siding, freight and passenger should be going fairly fast. The speed in the siding is shown as being 20 mph, so a train entering or leaving the siding would be going fairly slow but this is CTC territory, so there is no stop to throw the switch involved.
Location on the highway: South of the crossing the highway is more or less parallel to the railroad, but not close, probably about 1/4 mile east of the railroad. Going north toward the railroad crossing, before the crossing, there is a large radius curve to the left and the crossing is just north of the end of the curve.
First, this is a fairly low angle crossing, somewhere around 35 to 45 degrees. The truck was going northbound on US95, which in this area means pretty well due north after running parallel to the railroad. The train was going westbound (obviously), which in this area means southwest. Therefore, they were near facing each other. In fact, given the openness of the country, the headlight of the train should have been in sight of the truck before he entered the curve that is in advance of the crossing.
This leaves us with two scenarios: One, that the truck driver saw the train and tried to beat it. That would seem irrational, to say the least, as the time of observation that he would have had would tell him that the train was moving fast. Two, and somewhat more reasonable to consider that the truck driver was unaware until he saw the headlight, or, maybe heard the horn. Whether he was distracted or had headphones on a loud engine, who knows. Anything said in this area is completely speculation, and useless at this time. Suffice to say, when he did become aware, he swerved to the left. That would be the natural reaction when perceiving a threat from the left. He would probably have made the situation better by swerving right, but that would be an unnatural reaction, and there was no time at all for thought.
Second: With the crossing angle, at best the angle of impact would be somewhere in the 45 degree to 60 degree range. That would give a closing speed of around 110 mph or greater.
Third: Given the closing speed, the front part of the cab including engine, and probably fuel tanks, would almost certainly have ended up inside the car they hit. It would not be surprising to find that some parts of the front of the truck went clear through the car.
Fourth: Given this impact, the total fuel in the truck ended up inside and splashed underneath the car. I would go with inside, as there is no evidence in the pictures I have seen of fuel on the roadbed in the vicinity of the crossing, which would be the case if any significant quantity went under the car. Likewise, there is no evidence of fire inside or under the train beyond this one car.
Fifth: The smoke and flames say diesel fuel fire plus combustion of diesel fuel soaked car furnishings and contents. Someone else probably could give a better quantity, but I would say somewhere between 50 and 200 gallons of diesel fuel were involved. The fire has nothing to do with the relative flammability of the vehicle or contents. Some of what we see in the pictures is evidence of melted metal. For the passengers and crew to do anything about this fire other that put as much distance as they could between the fire and themselves would be an act of stupidity. In my opinion, the presence or absence of fire extinguishers, a fire fighting plan, or anything else on the train, including the materials in the car and an on-board fire suppression system is completely irrelevant to the situation.
Sixth: The large hole in the side of the car behind the car on fire was caused by the first trailer coming around and slamming up against the car.
Seventh: The train did not derail because the point of impact was between the trucks. If one of the wheel sets of the train had been hit by the truck a derailment would have been a near certainty.
I have not looked much yet today for further information on injuries / deaths, but being on the upper level of the car hit by the trailer and on the side the trailer hit would almost certain result in serious injury or death. Likewise, being on the lower level of the car hit by the front end of the truck would be nearly a death sentence. Being on the upper level would not be so good, either.
Posts: 2808 | From: Olive Branch MS | Registered: Nov 2002
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'The speed of the truck hasn't been determined, but Weener said it was going "at a considerable speed" because the impact left the tractor embedded in one of the train cars'.
quote:Originally posted by George Harris: Third: Given the closing speed, the front part of the cab including engine, and probably fuel tanks, would almost certainly have ended up inside the car they hit. It would not be surprising to find that some parts of the front of the truck went clear through the car.Â
-------------------- The best part of life is the journey, not the destination. Posts: 497 | From: Clarksburg, West Virginia | Registered: Oct 2003
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The Associated Press is one of the more valued newssources with regards to railroad industry affairs. The material located by Mr. DMW is certainly indicative of that.
Here is Los Angeles Times coverage of the incident including video from the AP:
I'm sorry, volks, but it is simply astounding, given that all conditions - weather, visibility, signals, (reportedly) equipment - were optimal that "the system' issues Commercial Driver Licenses' to persons capable of such negligence. It is difficult to dismiss that, at some point during the chain of events, this represented an intentional act.
I normally avoid the "hearts and flowers drill" prevalent at many a site after such an incident occurs, but in this instance, the message within the material Mr. Kisor posted to originate this topic, rings so true. Over at another site at which serveral here participate, there are Amtrak Passenger Engineers having seniority within that Zone and that regularly handle 5-6. Obviously "they're OK", but one of their Conductor colleagues is, I'm afraid, not.
That Dorm 39013 and Coach 34033 WILL be written off is simply not of consequence.
Posts: 9975 | From: Clarendon Hills, IL USA (BNSF Chicago Sub MP 18.71) | Registered: Apr 2002
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300 feet of skid marks??? I never worked as a traffic officer (where you learn complex accident reconstruction equations), but just from the basic stuff that I do know, 300 feet on a big rig indicates that he was flying. REALLY flying.
Posts: 2355 | From: Pleasanton, CA | Registered: Apr 2007
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I find this extract from the LA Times extremely disconcerting:
"Amtrak has had 36 accidents at grade crossings from January through March of this year, resulting in 11 deaths, according to the Federal Railroad Administration's safety office. In the five-year period ending in 2010, the passenger train service was involved in crashes that took the lives of 309 people, an average of 62 per year. Amtrak's media relations officials did not return calls Saturday for comment."
That doesn't exactly make happy reading for anyone contemplating a first trip by rail in the US.
According to a report in the Reno Gazette Journal the truck driver was a man in his mid-forties working for John Davies Trucking of Battle Mountain.
Incidentally, I find it strange, taking a look at a selection of Sunday newspapers throughout various States, that I could find few, if any, reports of this dreadful accident. Does this reflect a general lack of interest in an event that happens outwith a newspaper's State or is it that, because of the statistics mentioned above, it is viewed as almost commonplace? If either case is true that I find it sad.
My condolences to all concerned.
Posts: 211 | From: Norfolk England | Registered: Sep 2007
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Stephen W; I realize that most of your major newspapers in the UK are national in scope, but over here there are really only three; Wall Street Journal, New York Times, and Gannett News' USAToday. That third paper, often called McPaper, is simply a "bash' of newswire stories. Twelve column-inches is their idea of "in-depth" reporting, but I think that is what their market wants.
I defer to Mr. Mike Smith to critique the quality of The New York Times' journalism.
Posts: 9975 | From: Clarendon Hills, IL USA (BNSF Chicago Sub MP 18.71) | Registered: Apr 2002
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Stephen, the trend in U.S. journalism in the last decade -- even in major metropolitan newspapers -- has been to focus on local events and relegate world and national events to the back of the bus. It's what focus groups tell the marketers they want.
In Chicago both the Sun-Times and Tribune have had fair coverage of the Amtrak crash, but that's because No. 5 originates and No. 6 terminates here, and many of the riders therefore are local, so it's a local story. (Same with the San Francisco Bay dailies and the Reno paper.)
I concur, by the way, with GBN about McPaper. Strong on graphics, short on substance. I hate to find it outside my hotel door. But Gannett provides it free to hostelries.
Posts: 2236 | From: Evanston, Ill. and Ontonagon, Mich. | Registered: Feb 2007
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GBN and Henry; Thank you for your amplifications. I suppose because I come from a smallish island that I can't quite get into my head how vast a country yours is.
I've always been suspicious of focus groups, incidentally, as they are often led - sometimes unconsciously - into the answers that are wanted by those asking them. We see this a great deal in the political world of the UK.
Posts: 211 | From: Norfolk England | Registered: Sep 2007
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Since the second burned car is a coach, does that mean sleepers are now at the rear of the CZ? When I rode it last summer sleepers were up front.
So many unlikely and possibly illegal circumstances had to come together for this event to happen. I would guess this was a regular familiar run for the trucking company and they were used to regular train traffic at this location. This is truly tragic. And it may be good this is missed by major news outlets lest we give some ideas to the wrong people.
Posts: 1572 | From: St. Paul, MN | Registered: Dec 2002
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A touching tribute to Laurette Lee, the conductor who died in the crash, is here.Posts: 2236 | From: Evanston, Ill. and Ontonagon, Mich. | Registered: Feb 2007
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quote:Originally posted by TwinStarRocket: Since the second burned car is a coach, does that mean sleepers are now at the rear of the CZ? When I rode it last summer sleepers were up front.
As of a few weeks ago, the sleepers were in the front. I had business in the Amtrak yard in Oakland when the Zephyr pulled in for it's overnight servicing, and the sleepers were up front. When the wye'd the train, the sleepers remained up front for the trip back east. The only reason I can think of for the sleepers being on the rear again is that maybe they are adding a sleeper (and thus, removing one as well) at Denver like they used to do. Maybe for the summer peak period, an extra sleeper gets added at Denver, and that would explain why they are on the rear again.
There is some good updated information on this crash here:
If you read this morning's update at the top, as well as last night's update, you will see the name of the trucking company and that the driver was a man in his 40's. According to the article, there was a "convoy" of three trucks, and the 2 rear trucks came to a stop for the RR crossing but the lead truck did not slow down. He was going so fast that the cab became embedded in the Superliner.
Posts: 2355 | From: Pleasanton, CA | Registered: Apr 2007
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quote:Originally posted by smitty195: He was going so fast that the cab became embedded in the Superliner.
He was going so fast that the cab became embedded in the Superliner AFTER laying down more than 300 feet of skid marks.
There is an old saying that covers my expressing my thoughts about this driver. Is it true? Probably, but not certainly. Is it kind? Hell no. Is it necessary? Not at this time. So I will refrain from discussing it further.
-------------------- --------Eric H. Bowen
Stop by my website: Streamliner Schedules - Historic timetables of the great trains of the past! Posts: 413 | From: Houston, Texas | Registered: Mar 2006
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I believe this is the same spot where our eastbound Zephyr stopped when a waiter in the dining car went down with a heart attack. I remember thinking how isolated it was and how distant the lights of the emergency vehicles appeared. It seemed to take forever to reach the train. I believe the waiter, who was near retirement as was this conductor passed away at the nearest hospital.
My thoughts are with the conductor's family and the families of all who lost their lives in this tragic accident.
Frank in sunny SBA
Posts: 2160 | From: Santa Barbara, CA, USA | Registered: Oct 2003
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Sort of off-topic, but Frank's comment about the emergency lights seeming so far away reminds me of my previous occupation. When things got heated and dangerous and I would call for emergency backup, I could hear the sirens coming but it always seemed like an eternity for backup to arrive. I was also a 911 supervisor at one time, and I would sometimes have to make copies of phone calls for complaints that would come in. People would say that they called 911 and "it took a half hour" for help to arrive, but the tapes clearly showed that help was there within 3 or 4 minutes of the first call. Our sense of time is very skewed when we are under stress.
Posts: 2355 | From: Pleasanton, CA | Registered: Apr 2007
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I found the TV report very touching and my heart and prayers go out to the family.
Posts: 211 | From: Norfolk England | Registered: Sep 2007
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What I find disconcerting here is the statement that Amtrak has had 36 accidents at grade crossings. Apart from there being less stringent separation of road and rail traffic in the USA than in Britain, I know that sites where road and rail cross in the USA are not always as well or as obviously protected as in the UK. We do also have collisions at such sites and these are usually caused by road-users taking undue risks. I presume such sites in the USA are provided by at least visible fixed signs and flashing warning-lights when a train is approaching. Most such sites are also usually fairly obvious. Surely the onus must be on the road user to approach such crossings with extreme care. I witnessed an incident from the station platform on my first Zephyr trip, probably at Ottumwa, where a train was approching from the west, its headlight was visible and whistle audible but that did not prevent a pick-up truck from shooting across the tracks just before its arrival. It was a freight train travelling at considerable speed. I have read as an explanation for collisions that the public are more accustomed to the slower speed of freight trains and are taken unawares by the speed at which Amtrak services can operate. Again that does not explain the foolhardiness of taking risks at visibly signed positions. One can only sympathise with the stress caused to the locomotive drivers in such situations and also those in the police, fire and ambulance services who have to deal with the aftermath.
Posts: 168 | From: uk. northumberland | Registered: Jun 2007
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quote:Originally posted by George Harris: First, this is a fairly low angle crossing, somewhere around 35 to 45 degrees. The truck was going northbound on US95, which in this area means pretty well due north after running parallel to the railroad. The train was going westbound (obviously), which in this area means southwest. Therefore, they were near facing each other.
It's this angle (and sharper, as in towards head-on) that apparently makes it very difficult to judge the speed of anything approaching. Though, in this case, that would appear not to be relevant.
quote:Originally posted by smitty195: 300 feet of skid marks??? I never worked as a traffic officer (where you learn complex accident reconstruction equations), but just from the basic stuff that I do know, 300 feet on a big rig indicates that he was flying. REALLY flying.
And not necessarily under his control. It would appear that a heavy load pushing a tractor downhill with failed brakes was not the situation here but there are other reasons why there could be long skid marks (Toyota anyone?).
Amazing there was no derailment which would undoubtedly have added to the injuries. The engines in the pictures are a distance away from the train - I wonder whether the engineers had the foresight to get that additional fuel source away from the fire, or they became uncoupled during the incident, or just detached later on?
Posts: 2426 | From: Apple Valley, CA | Registered: Sep 2000
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According to numerous news sources, the Assistant Conductor was able to unhook the passenger cars from the locomotives so that the engineer could pull the power away from the burning cars. He reportedly did this with a compound fracture and one of his fingers barely hanging from his hand. I am also amazed that the train did not derail from the force of the impact.....almost a miracle.
Posts: 2355 | From: Pleasanton, CA | Registered: Apr 2007
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quote:Originally posted by smitty195: According to numerous news sources, the Assistant Conductor was able to unhook the passenger cars from the locomotives so that the engineer could pull the power away from the burning cars. He reportedly did this with a compound fracture and one of his fingers barely hanging from his hand. I am also amazed that the train did not derail from the force of the impact.....almost a miracle.
Ah, didn't see those reports. Thanks.
-------------------- Geoff M. Posts: 2426 | From: Apple Valley, CA | Registered: Sep 2000
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quote:Originally posted by smitty195: I am also amazed that the train did not derail from the force of the impact.....almost a miracle.
Perhaps it is a testatment to the design of the Superliner RR passenger car. As ungainly and top-heavy as they appear to be, they seem to rarely derail and almost never topple over.
Posts: 326 | From: San Antonio Texas USA | Registered: Dec 2003
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Sorry for the departed and the injured. As I read the reports over time, it is clear that 1) there are many theories as to the cause, and 2) we aren't really going to know for certain for quite some time, if at all. So I'll follow the story and wait.
Posts: 406 | From: La Grange, CA | Registered: Sep 2007
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As for the gory details, I intend to wait for the NTSB accident report. To my way of thinking, everything else fuels rants and speculation.
I note the trucking company has doubled down and gone silent. I guess they have competent attorneys. If they see even a smidgen of liability, their best recourse is to just be quiet.
The fault (and I do have a gut feeling where it lies) will not bring back the dead :-(
Posts: 1404 | Registered: Oct 2001
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