Amtrak Passenger Train Involved In Fatal Collision With Freight Train
An Amtrak train collided with a CSX freight train early Sunday in South Carolina, leaving two dead and over 100 injured, according to officials.
According to the South Carolina Emergency Management Division, Amtrak 91 was en route from New York to Miami when it collided head-on with the freight train around 2:35 a.m. just outside The Palmetto State’s capital.
Amtrak 91 was reportedly carrying eight crew members and 139 passengers when it struck the CSX freighter, as noted by Amtrak in a statement released Sunday.
The CSX freight train did not have anybody on it at the time of the crash, Fox News reported.
South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster confirmed that the two individuals who died were Amtrak personnel, per ABC News.
McMaster told reporters, “We’ve been to the scene and I would ask this is a Sunday, everyone go to church and say a prayer for these people involved.”
Amtrack 91 was reportedly hurling down the track at 59 mph when the crash occurred, according to Fox News.
The incident occurred near a rail yard roughly 10 miles outside of Columbia in a town named Cayce.
As noted by Fox News, this area of track features several spots where areas of track split off to allow freight cars to be loaded and unloaded. It is unknown whether both trains were moving during the crash as well as what led to the collision.
“It appears to me that the CSX was on the track it was supposed to be on, a switch track,” McMaster stated. “They weren’t supposed to be meeting like that, that’s what it appears to me.”
Five thousand gallons of diesel spilled out of the CSX freighter as a result of the crash, but crews are working to secure the leak and ensure the safety of residents in the nearby area.
According to SCMED Public Information Officer Derrec Becker, “There is no danger to anyone in the nearby area of Lexington County.”
The National Transportation Safety Board is launching an investigation into the deadly incident.
According to the American Thinker, the incident is the third fatal Amtrak train crash in 49 days.
In December, Amtrak Train 501 derailed in Dupont, Washington, while en route from Seattle to Portland, Oregon, killing three and injuring dozens. And on Wednesday, an Amtrak train carrying GOP Congress members collided with a dump truck, killing one and injuring four.
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