I heard there was an amtrak crash last night somewhere in Iowa. Nothin' at rail news yet, so I was wonderin' if anyone had any details? thanks
<font color="336633">NODAWAY, Iowa (AP) - An Amtrak train carrying 210 people from Chicago to California derailed in rural Iowa early Sunday, killing one passenger and injuring about 90 others. At least seven of the injured passengers were hospitalized, and dozens of others were treated and released from area hospitals after suffering minor injuries. The cause of the crash was unknown. Two passengers were in stable condition at Iowa Methodist Hospital in Des Moines, nursing supervisor Carolyn Woollums said. Woollums said she could not disclose the nature of their injuries. Three others were taken to St. Joseph Hospital in Omaha, Neb. hospital. Two were listed in serious condition and the other in fair condition, officials said. Shahada Ula, 47, of Laramie, Wyo., was taken to University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha and was listed in fair condition with a hip fracture. Another passenger was admitted to Alegent Health Mercy Hospital in Corning, administrator James Ruppert said. He did not release details about the patient's condition. The California Zephyr's two locomotives and 15 cars were carrying 195 passengers and 15 crew members, Amtrak spokeswoman Debra Hare said. Passenger Joseph Conn of Hobart, Ind., said one of the front train cars overturned and another was dangling from a 20-foot-high embankment in the rural area about 70 miles southwest of Des Moines. ``One of the coach cars went off to the left and it's sitting basically on its roof. Its wheels are sticking up into the air. They carried a number of people out of that one,'' said Conn, who was sitting near the back of the train. ``Between our car and the smoking car there was maybe more than 100 feet of shredded ties, shredded rails,torn up ballast on the roadway, just a torn-up mess,'' said Conn. The train was headed westbound from Chicago to Emeryville, Calif., when the derailment occurred at about 12:50 a.m. EST. ``There were cars off the track and down in the ditch along the railway,'' Brown said. Jim Anderson, who lives off a winding gravel road less than a mile from the crash site, said he was in bed when the derailment startled him and his dog. ``I thought my furnace blowed up. I heard a bunch of grinding and then boom,'' he said. ``That dog of mine jumped out of bed and started growling at the window.'' Passenger Mary Claire Maloney, 16, of Des Moines, said she was on the top deck of a car playing cards when the derailment happened. ``The first thing was where the lights flickered and went out,'' she said. ``Then there was bump and that was not a big deal but we started going faster into the ditch.'' She said she waited more than an hour in the top level of the car to be rescued. Her train car was at a 45 degree angle, she said, tipped so she walked on the wall and not the floor. ``That was kind of weird and dizzying,'' she said. Amtrak's customer response team and National Transportation and Safety Board investigators were investigating. Bryan Kannas, emergency management coordinator for the Adams County Sheriff's department, said the derailment happened on a straightaway located between the communities of Brooks and Nodaway. That section of track is owned and maintained by Burlington Northern & Santa Fe Railroad. Passengers were taken to a community center in Nodaway where they were served breakfast. ``They were kind of, like you'd think, shook up over it,'' Nodaway Mayor Robert Pafford said. ``After they settled down a little bit, they realized they had sores here and there and they were just bumps and bruises.'' Uninjured passengers were then taken by bus to Omaha. Amtrak was arranging for shelter and alternate transportation. Amtrak has set up a toll-free number for relatives at 1-800-523-9101. </font>
Thats too bad what happened , hey Drew , also check out www.ble.org , that is a great source for news and information .
