Amtrak train headed to Chicago derails in Colorado
KEENESBURG, Colo. (CBS) -- An Amtrak train on its way from the San Francisco Bay Area to Chicago derailed Monday night in Colorado.
Amtrak said the California Zephyr train derailed around 10 p.m. Mountain Time in Weld County, Colorado near Keenesburg, which is about 40 miles northeast of Denver. There were 69 passengers onboard, Amtrak said.
Amtrak said the train hit a tanker truck carrying milk. The tanker truck ended up on its side.
The train engineer, a 42-year-old man from Utah, suffered life-threatening injuries, according to the Colorado State Patrol.
The milk truck driver, a 31-year-old man from Arkansas, was waling around after the crash, state troopers said. The extent of his injuries was not known late Tuesday.
The truck was owned by Dairy Farmers of America. It was not known why the truck was on the tracks or what happened leading up to the crash.
The California Zephyr train operates between Union Station in Chicago and Emeryville, California in the East Bay – with stops and sights in Iowa, Nebraska, Colorado, Utah, and Nevada in between. The train passes through the Rockies and the Sierra Nevadas on its scenic route.
