MSHP: 3 people killed, multiple injured in Amtrak derailment near Mendon, Missouri

Update, 9:56 p.m. | Late Monday night, Amtrak released the following statement.

Amtrak also said that passengers who were on board when the train derailed will be accommodated as quickly as possible on other trains or buses.

Update, 5:08 p.m. | Three people died, including two people who were riding an eastbound Amtrak train headed to Chicago, when a train crashed into a dump truck at an uncontrolled crossing in north-central Missouri.

The driver of the dump truck also died in a crash that left many more people injured.

Missouri State Highway Patrol Troop B spokesperson Corp. Justin Dunn said the first call to dispatch came in at 12:43 p.m. and first responders arrived by 1:02 p.m.

The crash occurred at a crossing that did not have arms or signals, which is common in many rural areas.

Dunn said seven cars derailed and there were at least 207 passengers and 14 crew members. Those totals are preliminary and different from the totals — 243 passengers and 12 crew members — previously provided by Amtrak officials.

“All injured and uninjured passengers have been transported from the scene,” Dunn said.

Deputies with the Chariton, Macon, Linn and Randolph county sheriff’s departments responded to the scene along with police from the nearby cities of Macon and Brookfield.

Members of the Missouri Conservation Department, Missouri Park Rangers and the Missouri Fire Marshal’s office also responded to assist along with air ambulances from a half-dozen surrounding counties, which made multiple trips to hospitals with injured people.

Lt. Eric Brown, a spokesperson for the Missouri State Highway Patrol, said the investigation will take several hours and perhaps days.

UPDATE, 4:56 p.m. | A spokesperson for University Health, formerly Truman Medical Center, in Kansas City, Missouri, confirmed that "one person involved in the Amtrak accident Monday afternoon has been brought by helicopter" to the hospital.

MU Health Care said it now has nine patients from the crash under its care.

There were 243 passengers and 12 crew members on board when the train — which had made a stop around 11 a.m. at Union Station in Kansas City, Missouri — when it crashed into a dump truck near Mendon in north-central Missouri.

University Health's downtown hospital is a Level 1 Trauma Center, which is a federal designation for hospitals euipped to handle the most severe injuries.

No other information about the patient or the nature of the person's injuries was available.

UPDATE, 4:34 p.m. | CNN reported that at least 50 peoplewere injured and multiple people were killed in the train derailment.

UPDATE, 4:31 p.m. | Video and scanner traffic can be seen and heard below:

UPDATE, 4:14 p.m. | The Federal Railroad Administration, which is part of the U.S. Department of Transportation, said it has personnel en route to the Amtrak derailment near Mendon, Missouri, to support investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board.

The FRA team will inspect the track, each of the locomotives, including the two that derailed, and the train cars, including the eight that derailed. They also will examine the train’s black box and conduct interviews with witnesses and passengers.

The NTSB, an independent U.S. government investigative agency that examines civil transportation accident investigation, will examine the intersection where the crash occurred.

Amtrak said people who had family on board train should call 800-523-9101.

UPDATE, 3:57 p.m. | A passenger aboard the derailed Amtrak posted video of the scene as people tried to gather their things and exit the train after it crashed into a dump truck near Mendon, Missouri.

UPDATE , 3:43 p.m. | Amtrak reported there were 12 crew members on board, but it's unclear if any were injured or the severity of any injuries.

Amtrak is instructing families who had friends and family on board of the train to call 800-523-9101.

UPDATE, 3:35 p.m. | KSHB 41 News reporter Megan Abundis spoke with a first responder who helped passengers to safety.

Katelyn Ames, a volunteer firefighter who responded to the trail derailment near Mendon, Missouri, described the chaotic scene.

“I’m a little shook up,” she said Monday by phone. “There were a lot of people down there. I’ve never seen something like that before. I’m doing OK, but there were a lot of people hurt and some stuff that I didn’t want to see.”

Ames said more than 100 people were down, including some still stuck in the derailed passenger train.

“It was just a mess,” Ames said. “Amtrak’s tipped over, the person that got hit — it’s a disaster. The truck’s flipped over; there’s nothing left of that. Rocks throw everywhere from the truck that he hit.”

Ames, who was getting food and drinks to take to the stranded passengers, and other volunteers responded along with first responders from across the region to the scene. She helped bring a ladder to the train to get people down safely and take them to receive medical attention.

“There was some head trauma, there were some people who had something wrong with their legs,” Ames said. “I didn’t see the people that were still inside the Amtrak.”

Update 3:30 p.m. | The Federal Railroad Administration tells KSHB 41 News they have investigators en route to the scene of the crash.

According to the transitdocs website, the train was following a route northeast of Kansas City at the time of the crash:

COURTESY: https://asm.transitdocs.com/train/2022/6/25/A/4

Update 3:14 p.m. |The MSHP Troop B reported eight train cars derailed during the crash.

Update 2:58 p.m. | Missouri Gov. Mike Parson said he's aware of the situation and asked Missourians pray for those impacted.

"We are saddened to hear of the Amtrak train derailment in Chariton County this afternoon," Parson said. "Troopers, and other emergency management personnel are responding. We ask Missourians to join us in praying for all those impacted."

Update 2:56 p.m. |MU Health Care told KSHB 41 News that they were expecting three patients from the incident.

The condition of the patients weren't immediately available.

Original story | Amtrak’s Southwest Chief train No. 4 detailed early Monday afternoon in north-central Missouri in an injury crash with a dump truck.

The train, which offers service between Los Angeles and Chicago, stopped late Monday morning to pick up passengers around 11 a.m. at Union Station in Kansas City, Missouri, en route to Chicago.

KSHB 41 News spoke with Katelyn Ames, a volunteer firefighter with the Mendon Fire Department.

Ames reported multiple people suffered head injuries.

Ames said passengers are being taken to a school in Mendon, the only one in the city.

A gas station is providing food and water for passengers right now.

Train trackers show the train was heading northeast around 12:41 p.m. approaching Marceline, Missouri, at about 90 mph. A position report five minutes later at 12:46 p.m. showed the train had come to a complete stop.

An Amtrak spokesperson told KSHB 41 News that there were 243 passengers on board when the train struck a dump truck at a crossing shortly before 12:45 p.m. in Mendon, Missouri, which is located in Chariton County.

"Local authorities are currently assisting customers and we have deployed Amtrak resources to assist," an Amtrak spokesperson told KSHB 41 News.

This is a developing story and will be updated.

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