Amtrak Train 91, carrying passengers from New York to Miami, collided with a CSX freight train in Cayce near Charleston Hwy. around 2:45 a.m. Sunday. The two trains were on the same track – and investigators are working to figure out why this mistake happened. Here’s what we know so far:
As of Sunday morning, at least 70 people are hurt and 2 are dead. The two deaths are reported to be the two Amtrak employees on-board. 116 people were taken to local hospitals like Lexington Medical Center and Palmetto Health, and others were taken to Pine Ridge Middle School near the crash for food, shelter + reunification. (If you’re worried someone you know was on the Amtrak train, you can call 1-800-523-9101 or view Facebook’s crisis response check-in.)
Reports say no one was on the CSX train, and the Amtrak train was on the wrong track. At a later press conference on Sunday, National Transportation Safety Board Chairman Robert Sumwalt said a rail switch was manually set that diverted the Amtrak train onto the rack where the CSX train was parked. Now, they’re trying to figure out why this switch was flipped.
Image via Twitter
5,000 gallons of diesel fuel leaked from the trains post-crash. SCDHEC is cleaning up the material Sunday.
Gov. McMaster spoke during an emergency press conference around 10 a.m. Sunday morning at the S.C. Emergency Management Division, alongside officials from Lexington County, Amtrak and CSX.
This is the third deadly Amtrak crash within six weeks in the U.S., following last week’s crash in Virginia and December’s crash in Washington state. The next question is: How can we prevent this from happening again? The Gov. said this should prompt a national conversation about increased rail safety.
Apparently, the crash could have been avoided if the Amtrak train had something called “positive train control,” a system that combines GPS, radio + computers to monitor trains and stop them from colliding, derailing or speeding. Rail companies have just a few more years to implement PTC. No answer to why this Amtrak train didn’t have it.
Image via Twitter
If you’re wondering how you can help, Gov. McMaster recommended donating to the American Red Cross, which had volunteers on-site to receive + comfort passengers from the crash at Pine Ridge Middle School.
