RALEIGH – There is one fatality and one critical injury in the truck hit by an Amtrak train Wednesday morning carrying 200 hundred members of Congress and their guests. Congressional retreat organizers say one passenger on board the train was sent to the hospital. The train struck the garbage vehicle, which was carrying three people, on the tracks in Crozet, Virginia, about 40 miles west of Charlottesville, around 11:20 a.m. after departing Washington.
“There is one confirmed fatality and one serious injury. There are no serious injuries among members of Congress or their staff,” said White House press secretary Sarah Sanders.
The lawmakers were coming off of a late night for the president’s State of the Union address in Washington, D.C. on Tuesday and were headed to a working retreat at the Greenbrier in West Virginia, an historic hotel that has hosted Washington’s power brokers for generations.
According to Sen. Pete Sessions (R-TX) , who gave updates on Fox News Wednesday morning, about a dozen additional passengers were being treated by local emergency crews for minor injuries to head, neck and arms.
N.C. Representatives David Rouzer (R-7), Richard Hudson (R-8), Virginia Foxx (R-5) and Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) were all on board and report that they are O.K.
Our train headed to West Virginia was involved in an accident with a truck. Everyone on the train appears to be okay. Please join me in praying for those in the truck we collided with.
— Senator Thom Tillis (@SenThomTillis) January 31, 2018
While en route to the retreat this morning, our train was involved in an accident. I am okay and I believe that none on the train are injured. I have been praying and will continue to pray that God will care for all of those affected by this morning's events.
— Virginia Foxx (@virginiafoxx) January 31, 2018
“Local law enforcement is investigating the incident and crews are inspecting equipment for damage,” Amtrak said in a statement. Many lawmakers tweeted photos of the train crash showing significant damage to a truck.
Sessions said that while the scene is attended by authorities, staffers are working on logistical arrangements to move the lawmakers by bus to their destination.