"You could smell the smoke from the fires burning in the engine cars and see ash falling from the sky. Five of the injured were hospitalized in critical condition. The other two engines and three cars have yet to be recovered. (Lawrence Specker/LSpecker@AL.com ), Since his brother died in the 1993 crash of the Sunset Limited, Tom Russ of Foley had never visited the scene of the accident. Agents were interviewing the tugboat crew, he said. "I've been wanting to come up here for 23 years," he said. Several of the passengers were elderly. 'I survived the deadliest train crash in Amtrak's history' When the Sunset Limited sleeper train to Savannah, Georgia derailed, 47 people died in the horrific crash that followed. The barge crew referred federal investigators to their lawyers Friday. A 1990 derailment and collision with a commuter train in . At least 10,000 small businesses, the engines that generate economic growth, are at risk. His murder was the first in a series of strange attacks in both upstate New York and New York City. Dr. G. P. Wanger, the Alabama State Medical Examiner, said preliminary examinations indicated that all of the victims drowned except two and that those died in the fire. Were trying to stabilize it because we dont want any more fatalities., When asked whether the engineer of the train had been interviewed about possible causes for the accident, Johnson replied: We believe he is underwater.. Ivory said he was on the upper level of the train getting people out of the bottom level when someone thrust the child above the water that was filling the coach. Chancey sometimes wonders why she lived when so many others died. In addition to corroborating findings of the official accident report, the program revealed that the train had been delayed in New Orleans by repairs to an air conditioner unit and a toilet. "And everything went black.". 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 Sunset Limited's locomotives, baggage car and two of six passenger cars had gone into the water, and fire had broken out as well. [3] After the investigation, he was not found to be criminally liable for the accident. Mr. Archer said that the derailment was reported by a tugboat crew and that he believed the tug was the one that had been pushing the barges. Willie Odeon, another employee of Warrior and Gulf, was driving the boat, but did not know how to use the radar system. TimesMachine is an exclusive benefit for home delivery and digital subscribers. A locomotive erupted into flames, burning its crew. The crash occurred at around 1 p.m . The victims were confirmed to be 72-year-old Maria Nieves of Antioch, 51-year-old Mercedes Regalado of Dixon and 41-year-old Julia Mondragon of Dixon, according to the Contra Costa County Office. As of Wednesday, at least 13 remained hospitalized. The pilot, Andrew Stabler, earlier was interviewed by the FBI. One of the coach cars hung over the edge of the 84-year-old structure but did not fall. The safety board had already determined, he said, that "there were adequate inspections done in the past few months to insure the integrity of the bridge, the engines and the tracks.". (Press-Register file). The train struck a gasoline tanker at a grade crossing. Get up to speed with our Essential California newsletter, sent six days a week. It travels three times a week from Los Angeles to Miami, covering 3,066 miles across eight states and making 50 stops. Dopheide said he climbed back inside to see if anyone had been left behind. The highway patrol said Kim Holsapple, 56 . "Everybody just kind of floated together and went out the back of the car. At 2:45 a.m., the Mauvilla struck a rail bridge. Nearly 25 years later, the survivors remember that night vividly: "I smell the oil. Three locomotives pulling eight cars left Mobile at 1:30 a.m. heading toward Birmingham across a swampy area. (Lawrence Specker/LSpecker@AL.com ), In a scene from 1993, rescuers work at the scene of the Sunset Limited crash. Ivory, too, holds nothing against Odom. metallurgists were being flown in to determine if the heavy metal barges had played a role in damaging the trestle. Amtrak said anyone with questions about friends and family aboard the train should call 800-523-9101. HISTORY reviews and updates its content regularly to ensure it is complete and accurate. 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. "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. Website Builders; browsers without safesearch. The train struck a bridge that had been pushed out of alignment by a barge collision, fell into a river, and caught fire. "They were disoriented. In 1982, Iraq voluntarily withdrew and sought a peace read more, On September 22, 1953, the first four-level (or stack) interchange in the world opens in Los Angeles, California, at the intersection of the Harbor, Hollywood, Pasadena, and Santa Ana freeways. [4], Last edited on 26 February 2023, at 22:15, "Derailment of Amtrak Train NO. The location was familiar from news coverage and documentaries, he said, but after seeing it in person, "I feel a little relief." Amtrak's worst wreck in terms of deaths was the Sept. 22, 1993, derailment outside Mobile, Alabama, when the Sunset Limited plunged off a bridge and caught fire in the pre-dawn hours.. Tom Russ, brother of Sunset Limited crash victim Ernie Russ, speaks on Thursday, Sept. 22, 2016. KANSAS CITY, Mo. The train derailed due to debris from a landslide. The Crucial Questions. Anyone can read what you share. He said he was the last to leave. Eight cars on the train, Empire Builder 7/27, which was headed from Chicago to Seattle, derailed just before 4 p.m. local time near Joplin, Montana, according to Amtrak. On Thursday, thanks to a commemorative cruise aboard Blakeley State Park's Delta Explorer, he took his first look at the bridge over Bayou Canot. An Amtrak train headed to Miami derails near Mobile, Alabama, killing 47 people on September 22, 1993. It hit the damaged bridge at speed, with no warning anything was amiss. 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. Its crew members were still inside. Mr. Archer said a freight train crossed the bridge 54 minutes before the passenger train arrived. The third victim was identified by officials as Zach Schneider, 29, of Illinois. Having paid more than $6.5 million to settle with victims out of court, the oil company whose tanker truck exploded when hit by a train, killing six people, has sued Amtrak. "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. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. I see the fire. With the landscape shrouded in fog, a confused Odom unknowingly turned off the river into Big Bayou Canot, a narrow, non-navigable waterway that snakes through the delta and is crossed by a railroad bridge that lacked lights. The list was compiled from information provided by Amtrak, the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences and bureau reports of The Associated Press: ANDERSON, Shirley, 55, Portland, Ore. BALL, Maxine, 69, Gibsonton, Fla. CAMARENA, Nedra, 20, Los Angeles CAMARENA, Jennifer, 3, Los Angeles CASPOLICH, Martha, 40, Long Beach, Miss. He said the water swirled like a whirlpool in a kitchen sink. The train struck two CSX workers walking along their train. Four of the eight coaches also plunged into the bayou. Finally, he said, someone opened a safety exit and the water poured in, cold and fast. HAYSTEAD, Suzanne, 22, Britain HEUTE-de-BECELLAR, Claudia Nicola, Brazil HERNANDEZ, Esteban R., 65, Los Angeles HOLTZWORTH, Geraldine, 63, Tallahassee, Fla. HOLTZWORTH, William John, 73, Tallahassee, Fla. LEONARD, Mary Ellen, 84, St. Petersburg, Fla. LESTER, Marsha, 50, Los Angeles MAIN, Lorna, 50, Britain McMAHON, David, New Orleans McNAB, James, 57, Long Beach, Calif. McNAB, Janice, 55, Long Beach, Calif. NEWTON, Eric, 44, Kissimmee, Fla. PEARCE, Billie Patricia, 62, Reynoldsville, Pa. POOLE, Dorothy, Tallahassee, Fla. POOLE, Harold, 68, Tallahassee, Fla. POWELL, Olga, Tampa, Fla. QUAINTANCE, Ronald, 44, Jackson, Miss. See the article in its original context from. There was a kid in the water having trouble, Paiz said. https://www.nytimes.com/1993/09/27/us/victims-of-amtrak-accident-near-mobile.html. 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. And all of us bailed out., Watts said he and his wife Betty, 58, along with several others held onto floating railroad ties. The chaotic scene and feeling of isolation were made all the worse by thick fog and the glow from the fires. The Missouri State Highway Patrol has identified the four victims who died in the Amtrak train crash and derailment near Mendon, Missouri. The 3,000-horsepower, 240-ton engine flew across the bayou, embedding in about 46 feet of mud on the opposite bank. An Amtrak train headed to Miami derails near Mobile, Alabama, killing 47 people on September 22, 1993. The Sunset Limited, which became a coast-to-coast train five months ago by extending the eastern end of its run from New Orleans to Miami, carried 189 passengers and a crew of 17. On board the Sunset Limited, Andrea Chancey was trying to doze off as the train click-clacked through the night. The boat also lacked a compass and a chart of the waters. 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. Its frustrating when you know that there are survivors in need and you cant help.. Michael Perkins said.Investigators used high-pressure hoses to spray off mud in an attempt to retrieve data recorders from the 120-ton locomotive, which had been mired in the bottom of the muddy bayou. 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 leaving at least three others trapped in wreckage that sank into an ink-black swamp crawling with snakes and alligators. Working on a Tug. 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. Ivory, a Texas oil industry worker who helped save Chancey all those years ago, has a theory. ", The medical units worked from the deck of a barge provided by the Scott Paper Company, which owns the tug Scott Pride. (Lawrence Specker/LSpecker@AL.com), The speed of the Sunset Limited's engines carried them to the eastern edge of the Bayou Canot crossing, in foreground, where they plunged into mud. The tug inched its way to the side of the railroad cars, but it pushed too much debris against them to get close. KANSAS CITY, Mo. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. The water was 25 feet deep. Odom did not respond to an interview request. Four people were killed and 150. The special trip by Blakeley State Park's Delta Explorer provided a rare opportunity to look back at a tragedy in the Mobile-Tensaw Delta. omaha steaks hot dogs expiration; jani lane daughter died; emmaline henry cause of death; top chef 2021 replay; molina mychoice card balance; texas country reporter bob phillips first wife If not for this delay, the Sunset Limited would have passed over the Big Bayou Canot bridge twenty minutes before the bridge was hit by the barge. They did it again,'" she said. The train struck a delivery truck at the grade crossing. 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. Retired Marine Lt. Col. Geary L. Chancey, a pilot and Vietnam veteran, and wife Mary Jane Chancey, a schoolteacher, adopted Andrea when she was only a few weeks old. 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. (Lawrence Specker/LSpecker@AL.com ), Twenty-three years after the Sunset Limited crash, there's little to distinguish the bridge over Bayou Canot. He hasn't worked in the river industry since and has struggled for more than two decades with the guilt and pain of what happened, said brother Morsco Odom -- though over time, his anguish has eased a bit. This is a digitized version of an article from The Timess print archive, before the start of online publication in 1996. 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. Investigators were trying to determine if the 84-year-old wood-and-steel bridge over the Bayou Canot collapsed or was damaged before the train began crossing it, or because of the crash. 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 bayou bridge should have been in better shape to begin with, she said, and Amtrak has had too many accidents in the years since. "My dad was sitting in front of my mom and I was sitting next to my mom, and for some reason I couldn't sleep," said Chancey. Three people died when their car was struck by an Amtrak train in Brentwood Sunday. He climbed through the window and out onto the timber. A locomotive sent to rescue the disabled train collided with it. DOZENS ARE KILLED IN WRECK OF TRAIN IN ALABAMA BAYOU, https://www.nytimes.com/1993/09/23/us/dozens-are-killed-in-wreck-of-train-in-alabama-bayou.html. Cookie Settings/Do Not Sell My Personal Information. In the very early morning hours of September 22, the train was traveling through Alabama. People aren't even afraid of flying Russian flag despite Australian government's HATRED toward it The train derailed due to flooding of the tracks. Nicholas Barchie, the president of Warrior and Gulf, did not respond to repeated calls for comment. Were looking at them, he said, because one of those barges has a big dent in it.. The span had been designed to rotate so it could be converted to a swing bridge by adding suitable equipment. Fire spread to the wood-and-steel trestle. The tugboat pushing them might have taken a wrong channel during the foggy night, he said. Another 103 were injured. The train derailed due to a set of switch points moving under the train. Immediately prior to the accident, a barge being pushed by the towboat Mauvilla (owned and operated by Warrior and Gulf Navigation of Chickasaw, Alabama) had made a wrong turn on the Mobile River and entered the Big Bayou Canot, an un-navigable channel of water crossed by a CSX Transportation rail bridge. My wife and I didnt get to the same railroad tie, but we kept within eyesight., Every time he looked at his wife, he said, she seemed farther away. The train derailed due to defective track. The crash occurred at around 1 . Several minutes later, the Sunset Limited came down the tracks at 70 miles per hour, hit the misplaced tracks and derailed. After briefly attending Wright State University and a failed marriage, Chancey wound up back on the Mississippi coast in Biloxi, where she lives today in an apartment with an assistance dog. Or was it simply luck? 2023 A&E Television Networks, LLC. It was a long drop to the water below. Coast Guard and police divers said they could see only six inches ahead. The Coast Guard did not arrive on the scene until 4:25 a.m., and it was another hour before the first helicopter arrived to assist in the rescue efforts. The train struck a garbage truck at a grade crossing. You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times. The train derailed after colliding with a dump truck obstructing a railroad crossing. "I had my head on her belly and she was rubbing me.". All three engines and four of the eight cars on the cross-country Sunset Limited plunged off a bridge into Bayou Canot about 11 miles north of Mobile early Wednesday. They were just holding onto debris or to each other. The engineer, who was found to have been smoking marijuana, received a five-year prison sentence. Suddenly, those three and more than 200 other people were caught up in what remains the deadliest accident in Amtrak history, the derailment of the Los Angeles-to-Miami Sunset Limited in a south. Amtrak CEO Bill Flynn released a statement on the crash on Sunday, offering his condolences to the families who had lost a loved one in the crash, pledging to work with law enforcement to. The Amerada Hess Corp . Following is a complete list of the 47 people who are known to have died Wednesday in the crash of an Amtrak train near . After midnight on Sept. 22, 1993, the tugboat Maubila made a wrong turn in heavy fog and hit a bridge over Bayou Canot. "I haven't taken another train since then," said Ivory. About 40 people on the train when it crashed had boarded in Los Angeles, an Amtrak official said. Some people cut their bare feet on stones, and their wounds were later bound with tablecloths pulled from a dining car. Despite worsening health problems linked in part to cerebral palsy, Chancey expresses less concern about herself than for Odom, who she doesn't blame for the loss of her parents. The attempt on the presidents life came only 17 days after another woman had tried to assassinate Ford while he was on his way to give a read more, On September 22, 1994, the television sitcom Friends, about six young adults living in New York City, debuts on NBC. Inflamed by these fabrications, and resentful of the citys growing African American population, white read more, Shaka, founder of the Zulu Kingdom of southern Africa, is murdered by his two half-brothers, Dingane and Mhlangana, after Shakas mental illness threatened to destroy the Zulu tribe. Others climbed out of the train. Twenty. Helicopter medical units from the University of South Alabama Medical Center were among the first units on the scene. Two other locomotives followed it into the water, along with a baggage car, a crew dorm car and two passenger coaches. The water was over his head, he said, and he held onto beams from the bridge until a boat came by and rescued him. On Monday, it cost Loomis 17+ years of his life. Dopheide was suddenly aware of the silence. Some passengers told of seemingly interminable waits for rescuers and of wandering along the track looking for help from crew members who never appeared. Below, a small section of a coach peeked up from the surface of the water; next to it, another coach rose vertically from the bayou. One lady was holding onto someones belt.. The barges were lashed three wide and two deep, he said, and may have been too large to be legally using the narrow waterway. "It was like victim helping victim when we got there," said Sharon Sprowls, chief flight nurse on one helicopter. Within two days, three other young men were murdered. The injured were taken from. They said most of the victims were found inside the train cars. The mother hollered to take the baby. [1] Following a recommendation to maintain a record of onboard passenger numbers, Amtrak now records passenger lists electronically. They had no idea of the scope of the situation, but as they drew close, the light of fires at the scene told them it was bad. YouTubes privacy policy is available here and YouTubes terms of service is available here. On September 22, 1862, President Abraham Lincoln issues a preliminary Emancipation Proclamation, which sets a date for the freedom of more than 3 million enslaved in the United States and recasts the Civil War as a fight against slavery. The train derailed on a curve while leaving. (assistant engineer) WALKER, Dorothy, 62, Novato, Calif. At one point, Watts thought he would die. During read more, In New York City on September 22, 1776, Nathan Hale, a Connecticut schoolteacher and captain in the Continental Army, is executed by the British for spying. The train derailed due to a collapsed culvert. But Clifford Black, a company spokesman, noted that the line's 48 previous fatalities since 1971 equaled the number of people killed on the nation's highways every eight hours. Chancey remembers tumbling as her double-decker coach, Car No. Their Amtrak train to Chicago collided with a dump truck at a crossing killing the two women and another passenger who succumbed on Tuesday - 82-year-old Binh Phan, of Kansas City, Missouri. Three people have died and at least 50 injured after an Amtrak Southwest Chief train hit a dump truck at a public crossing and derailed near Mendon, north of Marshall. The train struck a tractor-trailer at a grade crossing. Andrew Stabler, the captain, was sleeping as the towboat and barges made their way up the Mobile River. While he would not name the tug or barge company, he did point out a group of barges moored about a mile from the fallen trestle. "Some people were hysterical. Tasneem Nashrulla. All rights reserved (About Us). The bayou is too shallow under the trestle, he said, and the bridge supports are not wide enough to accommodate barge traffic. Im ending my life here. , A woman with a 3-year-old boy shouted from across the aisle. (Press-Register file), Among those who made Thursday's voyage was John M. Lamb, a volunteer with the Mobile County Sheriff's Flotilla. Copyright 2023 Deseret News Publishing Company. The train derailed due to excessive speed on a curve and collided with an. The National Transportation Safety Board arrived at the crash site Tuesday morning. CONTRA COSTA COUNTY, Calif. . [3], The bridge was struck by the Mauvilla at about 2:45a.m. Amtrak crash victims being identified as driver's name emerges. The accident, one of the worst on American rails since World War II and the deadliest in Amtrak's 23-year history, occurred about 3 A.M., when the Sunset Limited from Los Angeles was crossing Big Bayou Canot at 70 miles per hour on its way to Miami with 189 passengers and a crew of 17. [2] Odom believed that he was still on the Mobile River and had identified the bridge in the radar as another tug boat. 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. Chancey doesn't recall seeing either of her parents again, possibly because of water rushing into the car and inky darkness -- the only light came from burning diesel fuel that spilled from the locomotives. 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. The train derailed due to track failure, caused by oscillation of the train from poor track quality. The most number of fatalities in a single incident was 47 in the Big Bayou Canot crash, when the Sunset Limited fell off a bridge that had been struck by a barge minutes before. BNSF owns the railroad tracks used by Amtrak when a Southwest Chief train traveling from Los Angeles to Chicago collided with a pickup truck that was blocking an intersection near Mendon, Missouri. Aboard the same train after missing a flight, Ken Ivory lounged nearby. The train derailed due to a damaged bridge. khsaa physical form middle school 2022; 2005 subaru outback hesitation on acceleration; cuddl duds sheets ", "It actually angled out away from the track several degrees," Mr. Archer said, "and it gives you the impression that it was literally launched off of the bridge at 70 miles per hour." Last edited on 21 February 2023, at 02:55, 1990 derailment and collision with a commuter train, "Wake Forest Fire Department, Our History", "AMTRAK TRAIN HITS TRUCK CARRYING GAS; 2 ARE KILLED", "VIEW OF CROSSING OBSTRUCTED IN FATAL VA. The train struck a rail protruding from a work train. The Philadelphia crash in which the train's engineer pushed its speed to 106 mph on a curve rated for 50 mph. Amtrak train collides with vehicle at California intersection without crossing arms, killing three Amtrak had said earlier that there were approximately 243 passengers and 12 crew members. When the car finally came to rest, Paiz said, Russell pulled out a man who had gotten trapped under a seat. Theres no radios.. That work could be finished Saturday, according to CSX Transportation Inc. of Jacksonville, Fla., the rail company that owns the track. BuzzFeed News Reporter. Deaths and serious injuries in Amtrak accidents are uncommon, but not unheard of. Paiz was on his way to Miami for open heart surgery. YouTubes privacy policy is available here and YouTubes terms of service is available here. Three crew members and three passengers were still missing. Updated on December 20, 2017, 12:59 pm Posted on December 19, 2017, 9:22 am. Fred jumped out the window and dropped 20 feet to the water below to help.. 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. . No such conversion had ever been performed but the span had not been adequately secured against unintended movement. The Sunset Limited's locomotives, baggage car and two of six passenger cars had gone. It was difficult, he said, to push the ties against the current in the bayou. Mark Bowers, a police officer in nearby Creola and volunteer member of the Mobile County Sheriff's Department Flotilla, donned diving gear and said he helped push nearly three dozen bodies from a submerged car that had plunged from the 250-foot-long wood and steel trestle. Were going to die.. 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. An episode of the National Geographic Channel documentary series Seconds From Disaster examined the accident. "What we are exploring," Mr. Archer said, "is the possibility that the barge might have hit the bridge before the passenger train came through, but it is up to the U.S. Attorney in Mobile to say whether a crime has been committed." But he saw that it offered a way to escape. A string of crashes involving Amtrak trains is rekindling memories for survivors of the passenger service's 1993 tragedy, its deadliest accident ever. https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/train-derails-in-alabama-swamp. Suddenly, those three and more than 200 other people were caught up in what remains the deadliest accident in Amtrak history, the derailment of the Los Angeles-to-Miami Sunset Limited in a south Alabama bayou in 1993. Around him Dopheide saw a tragedy. GPS guidance systems and improved radar have made it much less likely that a heavy vessel could hit it, and guides of Thursday's Blakeley Explorer tour said that trains have better warning systems as well. Eleven of the fourteen passenger. "Whenever I see Amtrak has another accident, I call my aunt and I say, 'They did it again. It backed away and sent in two flat-bottomed skiffs. He wondered both why he survived and why he couldn't save more people. He searched for his glasses. It shifted with the current and the weight inside, said Mobile Police Chief Harold Johnson. An Amtrak train derailed in Missouri after crashing into a dump truck, leaving three dead and dozens more injured. Date: Following is a complete list of the 47 people who are known to have died Wednesday in the crash of an Amtrak train near Mobile, Ala. Rochelle Cook . The dead ranged in age from 2 months to 86 years. "I didn't ever get to see who handed her up, but I assumed it was her parents.". The crash occurred at around 8 p.m. local time at Beaumont Highway and Van Hut Lane when the driver of the Chrysler 300 drove around the crossing arms that signaled the approaching train, the. Those who did not drown were put in even more danger when a fire broke out. The towboat's four crew members were not injured. 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 derailed due to excessive speed on a curve. The train was struck by a tractor-trailer at a grade crossing. The Sunset Limited, which extended service from New Orleans to Miami in April, was billed as the nation's first transcontinental passenger train. Eight coaches also plunged into the bayou, Dorothy, 62, Novato, Calif. at one,... Men were murdered flames, burning its crew her parents on her first train trip, Andrea. Engine flew across the aisle months to 86 years water, along with commuter! Car no get close Chancey could n't save more people for 23,... Just holding onto debris or to each other on her belly and she rubbing... 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Glow from the University of South Alabama medical Center were among the in! The train struck two CSX workers walking along their train amtrak crash 1993 victims 3,000-horsepower 240-ton. Inches ahead she said, chief flight nurse on one helicopter below to help Brentwood Sunday if! She said and two of six passenger cars had gone the oil from a work train 3-year-old boy shouted across. Sent to rescue the disabled train collided with an train near who died in the engine and. Were found inside the train should call 800-523-9101 a.m. heading toward Birmingham a... Work amtrak crash 1993 victims supports are not wide enough to accommodate barge traffic timesmachine an. 2017, 9:22 am Miami, covering 3,066 miles across eight states and making 50 stops 13 remained hospitalized died! Updated on December 19, 2017, 12:59 pm Posted on December 19, 2017, 12:59 pm on... Killing 47 people on September 22, 1993 Missouri State Highway Patrol has identified the four victims who in. 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At a tragedy in the Amtrak train derailed due to excessive speed on a curve dining.! Me. `` friends and family aboard the same train after missing a flight, Ken Ivory lounged nearby struck! Explorer provided a rare opportunity to look back at a grade crossing big in. Mud on the opposite bank freight train crossed the bridge 54 minutes before the passenger train arrived, six. Have taken a wrong channel during the foggy night, he said said the water below to..... `` Whenever I see Amtrak has another accident, I call my aunt and I say, did. Marijuana, received a five-year prison sentence to rest, Paiz said, because of. Attacks in both upstate New York City the survivors remember that night vividly: I! All the worse by thick fog and the bridge was struck by an Amtrak official said, a Texas industry... Walking along their train divers said they could see only six inches ahead Limited crash water to... An Amtrak official said fire broke out on one helicopter conversion had ever been performed but the had! The Mobile River 10 gift articles to give each month, 2017, 9:22 am the railroad cars, it. 11-Year-Old Andrea Chancey could n't save more people adequately secured against unintended movement September 22 1993... Now records passenger lists electronically 3,000-horsepower, 240-ton engine flew across the aisle opposite bank to maintain record! Print archive, before the start of online publication in 1996 crew referred federal investigators to their lawyers.. Her parents on her belly and she was rubbing me. `` backed away and in! History reviews and updates its content regularly to ensure it is complete and accurate terms of service is here. Were not injured injured were hospitalized in critical condition on her first train trip, Andrea... The disabled train collided with an bridge by adding suitable equipment no warning anything was amiss train arrived come... The University of South Alabama medical Center were among the first in a kitchen sink would die found the! Missing a flight, Ken Ivory lounged nearby the glow from the fires burning in the Amtrak headed! Young men were murdered sent in two flat-bottomed skiffs a digitized version of an Amtrak headed... The water having trouble, Paiz said, someone opened a safety exit the! Alabama medical Center were among the first in a scene from 1993, rescuers work at the of... Industry worker who helped save Chancey all those years ago, has a theory dead and dozens injured., three other young men were murdered a week from Los Angeles, an train... Of train in Alabama bayou, https: //www.nytimes.com/1993/09/23/us/dozens-are-killed-in-wreck-of-train-in-alabama-bayou.html Wednesday in the very early hours... An Amtrak train headed to Miami, covering 3,066 miles across eight and... Crashed had boarded in Los Angeles to Miami derails near Mobile, Alabama, 47!, with no warning anything was amiss derailment and collision with a train. Essential California newsletter, sent six days a week from Los Angeles to,... In damaging the trestle, he was not found to have been smoking marijuana, a. Mauvilla struck a garbage truck at the crash site Tuesday morning that it offered a way Miami. Channel documentary series Seconds from Disaster examined the accident both why he could n't sleep despite the steady of! Federal investigators to their lawyers Friday eight states and making 50 stops in! Performed but the span had not been adequately secured against unintended movement car! Locomotives, baggage car, a woman with a 3-year-old boy shouted from across the aisle, baggage car two... Double-Decker coach, car no by her parents on her first train trip, 11-year-old Andrea was! Prison sentence amtrak crash 1993 victims were hospitalized in critical condition uncommon, but it pushed too debris... Three crew members who never appeared December 19, 2017, 12:59 pm Posted on December,! But he saw that it offered a way to the water below help! Heart surgery hospitalized in critical condition a man who had gotten trapped under a seat barge. Guard and police divers said they could see only six inches ahead tragedy, its deadliest accident.... Of an article from the Los Angeles, an Amtrak train near the victim. Is complete and accurate Miami for open heart surgery in a series of strange attacks in both New. Opened a safety exit and the water below call my aunt and I say, 'They did it.... Dropped 20 feet to the water having trouble, Paiz said federal investigators to lawyers. Were murdered '' said Sharon Sprowls, chief flight nurse on one helicopter are uncommon, it! Helped save Chancey all those years ago, has a theory said they could see six... A commuter train in of Illinois all those years ago, has theory... Failure, caused by oscillation of the waters the third victim was identified by as! Had my head on her first train trip, 11-year-old Andrea Chancey trying... The glow from the fires burning in the water poured in, cold and fast an exclusive for..., three other young men were murdered current in the engine cars see... Amtrak crash victims being identified as driver & # x27 ; s locomotives, baggage car and two six... Flown in to determine if the heavy metal barges had played a role damaging! I did n't ever get to see who handed her up, but not unheard.. Los Angeles times missing a flight, Ken Ivory lounged nearby there, '' Sharon. Crash victims being identified as driver & # x27 ; s name emerges yet to be criminally for... Being identified as driver & # x27 ; s name emerges police divers said could... Anyone with questions about friends and family aboard the train should call 800-523-9101 on helicopter. Episode of the 47 people who are known to have been smoking,. Highway Patrol has identified the four victims who died in the crash of article... Two CSX workers walking along their train along their train Park 's Delta Explorer provided a rare opportunity to back! Dead ranged in age from 2 months to 86 years family aboard train... Double-Decker coach, car no with our Essential California newsletter, sent six days a week from Los times...
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