Amtrak Train Headed For NYC Strikes Truck, Derails In North Carolina
HALIFAX, N.C. (CBSNewYork/AP) -- An Amtrak train headed for New York City slammed into a tractor-trailer that stalled on railroad tracks in North Carolina on Monday, toppling the engine onto its side and injuring dozens of people, officials said.
Halifax County Sheriff's Chief Deputy Bruce Temple said the accident happened around noon in the town of Halifax, about 80 miles northeast of Raleigh.
The first two cars of the train derailed after the collision, Temple said. The North Carolina Department of Transportation said in a news release that the other car that derailed was a baggage car.
"If you just ... imagine how heavy an engine is, and it has completely been derailed and laying on its side," Halifax County Sheriff Wes Tripp said. "So the impact was enormous."
There were 212 passengers aboard and eight crew members, Amtrak said.
CBS affiliate WRAL reported that at least 40 people were injured, though transportation officials said the injuries were minor. No one was killed in the collision.
Helicopter video shows emergency responders strapping several passengers into wheelchairs and gurneys.
"We are relieved that there are no fatalities reported at this time, and our thoughts and prayers are with those who were injured," North Carolina Transportation Secretary Tony Tata said in a news release.
Amtrak Train Headed For NYC Strikes Truck, Derails In North Carolina
A Twitter user posted video of the moment of impact.
The rail crossing involved has gates and traffic signals. A car behind the tractor-trailer said it was stuck for at least 15 minutes while trying to make a turn onto a highway, CBS2's Weijia Jiang reported.
The truck driver was not in the vehicle when it was struck and was not hurt, authorities said.
State and federal investigators were still at the site of the crash late Monday afternoon.
People with questions about friends and family aboard the train can call Amtrak at 800-523-9101.
Sheriff's Major Scott Hall said from the crash scene that some passengers were taken to a local hospital by ambulance, but others were able to climb aboard a shuttle bus to be taken for examination.
"There was a massive jerk and we were kind of thrown forward a little bit, and the train came to a sudden stop," Charlotte Story, who was on the seventh car of the train, told WRAL. "I couldn't tell you if it was trying to slow down or not. There was no whistle. It came completely out of the blue."
The Amtrak train was Carolinian No. 80, which runs between Charlotte, North Carolina, and New York each day. It left Charlotte at 7 a.m. and was scheduled to arrive at Penn Station at 8:47 p.m.
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