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Associated Press
Kansas City, Missouri (AP) —The first lawsuit was filed days after an Amtrack train crashed and derailed in a rural area of Missouri, killing four and injuring up to 150. I did.
Amtrak and BNSF Railway filed a federal proceeding on Thursday against a concrete contractor who owns a dump truck that collided with a passenger train, Kansas Citystar reported. The proceedings said the train was "clearly visible" and the truck driver inadvertently crossed the track because of the MS Contracting accident in Brookfield, Missouri.
The call to MS Contracting rang unanswered on Friday morning.
At the intersection where the collision occurred, there are no lights, traffic lights, or gates to warn of the approaching train. Prior to the crash, locals expressed concern about the safety of the intersection, and locals and federal road safety officials said it was very steep. Shariton County leaders have been pushing for increased safety at railroad crossings for nearly three years, County Commissioner Evan Emmerich said this week.
Brookfield truck driver Billy Burton II, 54, died in a collision with three passengers on the train. His widow, Erin Burton, also filed a lawsuit on Thursday against a BNSF employee who stated in state court that the intersection with Shariton County was unsafe.
Shariton County lawyer Brandon Shelton did not immediately return the phone message that the Associated Press left on Friday morning seeking comment on the proceedings.
Two train passengers — Rochelle Cook (58) and Kim Horsapple (56) in Desoto, Kansas, died on the scene. Binh Phan, 82, the third passenger in Kansas City, Missouri, died in a hospital on Tuesday. Up to 150 people were injured, according to the Missouri Highway Patrol.
The Southwestern chief was moving from Los Angeles to Chicago when he collided with a truck near Mendon. Two locomotives and eight cars have derailed. Amtrak officials said there were about 275 passengers and 12 crew members on board. The National Road Safety Commission said on Wednesday that the train was traveling at 140 mph (about 140 mph) under the speed limit of 90 mph (145 km) when the collision occurred.
