It was pitch black, the only light coming from burning diesel fuel just yards away. 2023 Advance Local Media LLC. (Lawrence Specker/LSpecker@AL.com ), Twenty-three years after the Sunset Limited crash, there's little to distinguish the bridge over Bayou Canot. The FBI said a tugboat pushing six barges loaded with concrete and coal might have rammed and weakened the trestle shortly before the Sunset Limited arrived. Dwight McGee. Steve Day, left, and the park's director of excursions, Mike Bunn, explained the scenario leading up to the derailment. Agents were interviewing the tugboat crew, he said. KANSAS CITY, Mo. Another passenger, Alfredo Lamedo, 59, of Miami, was in a car that did not drop into the bayou. It took a jury less than 90 minutes to find Amtrak engineer Brandon Bostian not guilty of all charges in connection with the May 2015 derailment of Train 188, concluding years of legal twists over the crash that left eight people dead and more than 200 injured. Before today, the worst Amtrak wreck had occurred in January 1987, when a Conrail engineer drove three engines through a closed track switch and into the path of a high-speed passenger train near Chase, Md. Dopheide helped his eight survivors onto the boats. (Lawrence Specker/LSpecker@AL.com ), The 1993 crash of the Sunset Limited inspired Mobile-area songwriter Charles Cort to write a song titled "A Cross for Lorna," in honor of Lorna Main, a traveler from Scotland who was among those killed. The agency held a public hearing in Mobile, just miles from the bayou, made multiple recommendations to improve safety, and the world moved on. An Amtrak train derailed in Missouri after crashing into a dump truck, leaving three dead and dozens more injured. 0. TimesMachine is an exclusive benefit for home delivery and digital subscribers. The train struck a delivery truck at the grade crossing. (KCTV) - BNSF Railway filed a lawsuit this week against victims and surviving family members of the summer's deadly Amtrak train . He said Fred Russell reached shore safely as well. Two locomotives and eight cars derailed when the train hit the rear of the truck, injuring more than half of its 275 passengers and 12 crew members, the agency said. Did one of her parents lift her out of the bayou waters before drowning, as news reports at the time said, or did God save her for something special? MOBILE, Ala. In the dark of night, three travelers advanced inexorably toward tragedy. A fire of unknown cause took place in a passenger car. But it was so foggy you really couldn't see the water.". (assistant engineer) WALKER, Dorothy, 62, Novato, Calif. Around the same time, Willie Odom was piloting the towboat Mauvilla as it pushed six barges away from a wharf in Mobile and up the winding Mobile River. The National Transportation Safety Board arrived at the crash site Tuesday morning. Despite the displacement of the bridge, the continuously welded rails did not break. The Crucial Questions. (Lawrence Specker/LSpecker@AL.com), John Lamb, now 77, is still active with the Sheriff's Flotilla. Among the first rescuers on the scene were the crews of the tugboats Scott Pride and Mauvilla. I thought, This is it. Cookie Settings/Do Not Sell My Personal Information. "We were throwing sheets and blankets out of the cars that were still on the track to the people who were wet from being in the water," said Edward Mouton, a 20-year-old passenger from Los Angeles. Last week Federal officials criticized CSX for inadequate track inspection relating to a 1991 derailment in which eight Amtrak passengers were killed and 65 were injured. The accident occurred about 15 miles north of Mobile, where the train had just stopped. The crash occurred in a remote area north of downtown Mobile. On Thursday's anniversary, he visited the scene to drop a cross in the waters of Bayou Canot in her memory. (Press-Register file). "As soon as it got daylight, we realized how bad it was," he said. When Shaka became chief of the Zulus in 1816, the tribe numbered fewer than 1,500 and was among read more, It started with an offhand remark made by Bob Dylan during his performance at Live Aid, the massive fundraising concert held at Wembley Stadium, London, and JFK Stadium, Philadelphia, in the early summer of 1985. Russ explained that plans originally called for Ernie Russ to get off the train in Mobile. More than 40 people were killed early today when part of an Amtrak train hurtled off a 12-foot-high trestle into a bayou and caught fire, trapping sleeping passengers in black water up to 30 feet deep. Most Victims Drowned. I guess I was physically moving, Watts said later, but I wasnt mentally coherent until the water rose to my waist and I realized, Hey this is serious, this is not a damn dream. . (Lawrence Specker/AL.com), An extra edition of The Mobile Press was published Wednesday, Sept. 22, 1983, to provide readers with the most complete coverage possible on the day the Amtrak Sunset Limited passenger train derailed at Big Bayou Canot in Mobile, Ala. (Mike Brantley/Press-Register file). TimesMachine is an exclusive benefit for home delivery and digital subscribers. The injured were taken from. He said his car began filling with water and smoke. "The flames were higher than the trees," he said. The toll could eclipse the cumulative total of 48 people killed in all crashes on Amtrak since it was created 23 years ago to run the nations long-distance passenger trains. WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. President Joe Biden is once again telling the story about his trip with an Amtrak conductor back when he . Loomis, a former Coast Guardsman, was sentenced to 210 months in prison without parole for causing the Aug. 12, 1992, crash of Amtrak's Colonial in . "I had my head on her belly and she was rubbing me.". As Odom tried to find a tree to tie up until the fog lifted, records show, a barge struck a bridge support, bending the rail tracks more than one yard out of line just eight minutes before the Amtrak train arrived. Most people werent saying anything to me because they were too frightened to talk, he said. Forty-seven people died and more than 100 others were hurt. Central Asian airlines are seizing opportunities from Russia's closed airspace, with airline traffic into the region booming in the year since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, executives and analysts said. WILSON, John, 62, Lyon, Miss. The location was familiar from news coverage and documentaries, he said, but after seeing it in person, "I feel a little relief." The NTSB said the Sunset Limited got its last clear signal at 2:47 a.m. when it was about three-quarters of a mile from the bridge and traveling at 70 mph. The bodies, presumed to be three Amtrak engineers, were taken to the state medical examiner's office for positive identification, Coast Guard Capt. A 1990 derailment and collision with a commuter train in Massachusetts caused 453 injuries but no deaths. Transportation Secretary Federico F. Pena, who flew to the disaster scene, said the transportation safety board was investigating the possibility of a barge hitting the trestle. One of the coach cars was covered completely. ", The medical units worked from the deck of a barge provided by the Scott Paper Company, which owns the tug Scott Pride. None of the 85 people onboard were injured, Aubert said.. Committee: House Appropriations: Related Items: Data will display when it becomes available. Mr. Archer said F.B.I. The collision forced the unsecured end of the bridge span approximately 3 feet (1m) out of alignment and severely kinked the track. No such conversion had ever been performed but the span had not been adequately secured against unintended movement. 34083, sailed off the end of the bridge and into the bayou. Anyone can read what you share. "The only light was from the fire," Mr. Altosino said, "and it was so hot that I had to splash water on my back to cool off. A third of the coach car hung over the edge. The other two were passenger coaches. "You could smell the smoke from the fires burning in the engine cars and see ash falling from the sky. He just thought, Hey, this is a great game! . The train derailed due to track damage caused by an agricultural vehicle. The train derailed due to a broken axle on a locomotive. The bridge was only seven to 12 feet above the water (depending on the tides) and was in place so that trains could pass through the swamps. The train was bound from Los Angeles to Miami. Apr 25, 2018. The trip normally takes 68 to 72 hours. Cookie Settings/Do Not Sell My Personal Information. (Lawrence Specker/LSpecker@AL.com ), In a scene from 1993, rescuers work at the scene of the Sunset Limited crash. The Amtrak Sunset Limited from Los Angeles to Miami with 206 people aboard hurtled off an aging trestle early Wednesday and plunged like a steel stone into a foggy Alabama bayou, killing 44 and. Aboard the same train after missing a flight, Ken Ivory lounged nearby. One had a deep gash on its bow. And all of us bailed out., Watts said he and his wife Betty, 58, along with several others held onto floating railroad ties. Jim Folsom, who flew over the bayou as smoke and steam rose from the wreckage, said, It was the most terrible sight I have ever witnessed.. Two locomotives, Amtrak GE P32-8BWH #511 leading and EMD F40PHR #398 trailing, and eight of twelve cars derailed, four of them falling 30 feet (9 m) off a trestle bridge into a dry river bed. See the article in its original context from. Dopheide finally found a door and tried to open it. It would not budge. But in a last-minute change, he continued on toward Pensacola. Asked to respond, Dick Bussard, CSX's director of communications, said, "We have the best safety record in the industry." For his part, Paiz said he helped other passengers out through a window on the lower side of his car. An Amtrak train headed to Miami derails near Mobile, Alabama, killing 47 people on September 22, 1993. The train struck track maintenance equipment. Together, Russell and Paiz opened an emergency window. Four of the eight coaches also plunged into the bayou. On Monday, it cost Loomis 17+ years of his life. The train derailed due to excessive speed on a curve. He said that the company led the industry in 1991 with only 2.81 accidents per million train miles, and improved that mark to 2.39 in 1992 and 1.73 thus far this year. The train derailed due to debris from a landslide. YouTubes privacy policy is available here and YouTubes terms of service is available here. The engineer, who was found to have been smoking marijuana, received a five-year prison sentence. Aboard the same train after missing a flight, Ken . "Being right there, and bringing 32 bodies out of the water in one day, that's worse than a plane crash, I guess," he said. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Advance Local. At one point, Watts thought he would die. The NTSB's chief investigator, Russ Gober, conceded Friday that confusion exists over the accident reporting times, but he said such time differences are "quite common in accident investigations.". Several of the passengers were elderly. Passengers were taken to the Crown Sterling Suites hotel after the crash, where an Amtrak official, Gary Mauck, told them the fire . At 2:45 a.m., the Mauvilla struck a rail bridge. On the other side of the trestle was the third engine, which had pulled the train; it, too, was on its side in the mud, charred and mangled. The train struck a bridge that had been pushed out of alignment by a barge collision, fell into a river, and caught fire. Chancey sometimes wonders why she lived when so many others died. At one point during the afternoon, the search for bodies and survivors was suspended when it became apparent that a crane was needed to stabilize one of the railroad cars before divers could enter it safely. After helping her out a window, he said, he climbed out the window and swam for what remained of the trestle, where he hung on for about an hour, watching the engines burn 40 to 50 feet away. Shown: Tom Russ, at right, looks on as the scene of his brother's death comes into sight. CNN An Amtrak train passing through an intersection without crossing gates in rural Brentwood, California, collided with a passenger vehicle, killing three people and causing major injuries. It shifted with the current and the weight inside, said Mobile Police Chief Harold Johnson. This is a digitized version of an article from The Timess print archive, before the start of online publication in 1996. Moreover, the cost to District agencies to enhance emergency preparedness is $250 million. Andrea's wheelchair made boarding more difficult than for other passengers, but she was thrilled about her first train ride. Twenty-Three years, visitors -- including a first responder and the brother of an engineer who died -- returned to the scene of a deadly rail disaster. [3], The bridge was struck by the Mauvilla at about 2:45a.m. BRENTWOOD, Calif. Three people were killed Sunday afternoon when an Amtrak commuter train smashed into a car n Northern California, authorities said. The nose of the 80-foot lead locomotive was buried in bayou silt. The one-sided battle, during which 1,400 British sailors lost their lives, alerted the British to the deadly effectiveness of the submarine, read more, Long-standing border disputes and political turmoil in Iran prompt Iraqi President Saddam Hussein to launch an invasion of Irans oil-producing province of Khuzestan. (Press-Register file), Among those who visited the site of the Sunset Limited crash on Thursday was Tom Russ of Foley, whose brother, Ernie Russ, was one of three engineers who died in the derailment. Hours after the accident, one of the sleeping cars still hung from the 50 feet of the trestle still standing. He said he threw out some duffel bags--but could not find his own belongings. The National Transportation Safety Board sought to interview the pilot and three crew members of a tugboat that had been pushing six barges, one of which officials say hit the bridge in fog shortly before the train wreck. He said the F.B.I. At the scene of the Sunset Limited crash in 2003, he said, "They let me out on the bank and I crawled up through the briars and rip-rap" with another man to begin assisting passengers. They grabbed wooden debris to stay afloat until more help arrived. A temporary morgue was set up at the nearby marina hamlet of Port Chickasaw. This list contains serious incidents those with deaths or more than 20 injuries of passengers or railroad personnel that have involved Amtrak trains. TRAIN CRASH", "Stockton Train Crash Kills 3, Injures Dozens", "Amtrak, Family Settle Over Fatal Collision", "Man Gets 17 1/2-year Term In 1992 Amtrak Derailment", "Investigators piece together Nevada Amtrak crash", "Sheriff's office: At least 3 killed in Amtrak derailment", "NTSB Investigation of Amtrak Southwest Chief Derailment Under Way, BNSF Track Opens, Lawsuits Filed", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=List_of_accidents_on_Amtrak&oldid=1140653481. The flames engulfed nine vehicles waiting for the train to pass the crossing, killing the truck driver, three people in a van and two in cars. Those who did not drown were put in even more danger when a fire broke out. The train derailed after colliding with a dump truck obstructing a railroad crossing. Victims of Amtrak Accident Near Mobile. Charles W. Archer, the special agent in charge of the Mobile office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, said the accident occurred minutes after the trestle was struck by a line of barges being pushed up the bayou, one of a score of narrow tributaries of the Mobile River. This page was last edited on 21 February 2023, at 02:55. Dopheide said he climbed back inside to see if anyone had been left behind. The chaotic scene and feeling of isolation were made all the worse by thick fog and the glow from the fires. The divers lifted bodies onto a barge. The 1995 Palo Verde derailment took place on October 9, 1995, when Amtrak's Sunset Limited was derailed by saboteurs near Palo Verde, Arizona on Southern Pacific Railroad tracks. The train collided with a stopped CSX freight train. Five other incidents have caused ten or more deaths: a 1987 collision with freight locomotives in Maryland, a 1971 derailment in Illinois, a 1996 collision with a commuter train in Maryland, a 1999 grade crossing accident in Illinois, and a 1977 grade crossing accident in Florida. The four people who were killed in the Amtrak crash Monday in rural Missouri were identified Wednesday, days after the train crashed into a dump truck, derailing the entire train. One of the coach cars hung over the edge of the 84-year-old structure but did not fall. Her upkeep was funded partly by a trust fund set up by Amtrak and CSX, which owned the bridge. Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site. But Perkins, the Coast Guard captain, said Thursday a mayday call was placed by Stabler at 3:06 a.m. and was 12 minutes before the wreck. The train struck a rail protruding from a work train. said the information gathered so far supported the theory that the trestle might have been loosened by being hit by the barges. (Lawrence Specker/LSpecker@AL.com), In 1993, it took first responders an authorities some time to ascertain the full extent of the catastrophe. These Are The Victims Of The Washington Amtrak Crash. A Conrail freight train collided with the Amtrak train. It was, as The Saturday Evening Post wrote, a mad motorists dream: 32 lanes of read more. Three locomotives pulling eight cars left Mobile at 1:30 a.m. heading toward Birmingham across a swampy area. When the Civil War broke out in 1861, read more, Captain Ernest Medina is acquitted of all charges relating to the My Lai Massacre of March 1968. But if you see something that doesn't look right, click here to contact us! They said most of the victims were found inside the train cars. Mr. Archer said a freight train crossed the bridge 54 minutes before the passenger train arrived. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. A lounge car, a dining car, a sleeping car and a coach car were standing on the trestle. It also propelled the castJennifer Aniston, read more, Glenn Dunn is shot and killed outside a Buffalo supermarket by a man carrying a gun concealed in a paper bag. Ivory, too, holds nothing against Odom. Miles away, Willie C. Odom steered a towboat as it pushed barges up a river that was getting foggier by the mile. Like almost everyone, Mike Dopheide, 26, of Omaha, Neb., was asleep. Accompanied by her parents on her first train trip, 11-year-old Andrea Chancey couldn't sleep despite the steady rocking of the Amtrak coach. We were scared of the water catching on fire.". 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