An Amtrak train accident has left two dead and dozens injured in Chester, Pennsylvania last week.
The accident on April 3 was caused when an Amtrak train hit a backhoe on the tracks in Delaware County. The impact derailed the train’s lead engine. There were seven crew members and around 341 passengers. The train was heading from New York to Savannah, Georgia.
There were two fatalities, neither of which were passengers. The two were Amtrak employees working with the backhoe equipment – a supervisor and backhoe operator. Debris from the collision flew at the first two cars of the train, injuring passengers.
Amtrak has stated that 31 people were hospitalized with nonlife-threatening injuries.
It is unclear whether the backhoe was performing regular maintenance or whether it was cleaning up debris from high overnight winds. U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., has called for a complete investigation.
Service along the Northeast Corridor between Philadelphia and Wilmington was suspended. As of Sunday, Amtrak started offering limited service. The line between Philadelphia and New York City was suspended but has resumed to a limited capacity.
The Federal Railroad Administration and the NTSB responded to the scene. This incident comes almost a year after another fatal train accident.
Back in May 2015, an Amtrak Train headed for New York City crashed in the Port Richmond section of Philadelphia leaving eight people dead.
The National Association of Railroad Passengers President and CEO Jim Mathews released the following statement related to this most recent accident in Chester:
We at NARP were saddened to learn this morning of the derailment just south of Philadelphia that has claimed at least two lives and injured many more. As a former firefighter/medic, I can attest to how chaotic these kinds of incidents can be and to how any initial information that emerges is often incorrect or incomplete. While it is too early to know how this incident occurred, I’m sure investigators will do a thorough job to help all of us understand how this tragedy occurred and how future incidents might be prevented.
