MENDON, Mo. – Amtrak has confirmed there is a train derailment involving more than 200 people in northwest Missouri. Amtrak says several cars derailed on a train that was going from Los Angeles to Chicago. The crash happened after the Southwest Chief hit a dump truck at a public crossing in the town of Mendon around 1:42 p.m.
The Missouri Highway Patrol says eight cars derailed. Authorities confirmed three deaths, involving two on the train and one on the dump truck At least eight medical helicopters were responding from around the state, Matt Daugherty, Lifeflight Eagle director of business development, told The Kansas City Star. Daugherty said he knew there were a number of injuries and some people were in critical condition. The Highway Patrol did not release the number of people injured.
Amanda Drinkard tells Spectrum News she was traveling with Kansas City area high school students to Chicago for the Future Business Leaders of America conference. The passengers are being taken to a local high school.
Another passenger tweeted that the train he was on derailed. The pictures he shared shows passengers being pulled through an opening of an overturned train car. He also tweeted that there is debris littering the tracks.
The Missouri governor posted on Facebook that he is saddened to hear about the derailment. He says the Missouri Highway Patrol, Missouri Department of Public Safety, and other first responders are helping the victims.
The NTSB is sending a 14-member “go team” to investigate, with an arrival expected Tuesday.
This is a developing story. We will continue to update it with more information as it becomes available.
The Associated Press contributed reporting for this story.
