Injured Passengers Recover from Amtrak Crash as Safety Questions Linger

The Amtrak crash in North Carolina on Monday was a worrying wakeup call about the hazards of railroad crossings. It also asked many other questions.

The only positive from this latest crash at a crossing is that nobody was killed, unlike in New York where six people died in a Metro North crash last month.

Federal authorities said they believed 62 people were injured in Monday’s crash. ABC News reported at least 54 people were taken to a local hospital with non-life threatening injuries. Just because these injuries were non-life threatening does not mean they were not serious. We have already signed up one of the injured. The train was heading from Charlotte to New York and many of the passengers are believed to be from New York and New Jersey.

Eyewitnesses reported on how they saw the truck and trailer occupy the crossing for 15 to 20 minutes, officials said. The North Carolina highway patrol had at least one trooper accompanying the oversized load. It said it spent about five minutes trying to negotiate the railroad crossing.

This crash has raised questions about the safety of the crossing as well as the role played by the trucker and its escort.

The train is reported to have set off warning flashers on the grade crossing and the crossing arms came down as the truck was still straddling the tracks.

One of the troopers escorting the heavy truck was trying to help the driver negotiate a tricky left-hand turn across the tracks onto a two-lane highway. However, the 164-foot tractor-trailer combination, which was longer than half a football field, couldn’t navigate it, investigators said.

This accident points to a series of errors. Those liable for the personal injuries suffered by passengers and staff on the train could include Amtrak, CSX as the company that manages the track and the crossing, the trucker, the truck company and North Carolina Highway patrol.

Amtrak officials said that people with questions about their friends and family aboard this train can call the following number for information: 800-523-9101.

If you have been injured in a railroad crash call our railroad passenger injury lawyers at 757.455.0077.