Train carrying GOP Congress members hits garbage truck, one dead
byDaniella SilvaandTom Costello
A chartered train carrying Republican
lawmakers to a retreat collided with a trash truck in Virginia Wednesday
morning and left at least one person dead.
White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said there was one confirmed fatality and one person seriously injured.
"There are no serious injuries among members of Congress or their staff," she said in a statement.
The victim's identity was not immediately
released. A spokesperson for the Congressional Institute, which sponsors
the retreat, said the person who died and a person who was critically
injured were both in the truck.
One dead in crash between GOP train and trash truck2:51
The train was carrying House and Senate Republicans to the retreat in West Virginia when it hit the truck.
“We were on our way to West Virginia and it
was a sudden impact, a loud noise and everyone was jolted,” Rep. Carlos
Curbelo, of Florida, said on MSNBC.
Rep. Jason Lewis of Minnesota was taken to an
area hospital for a reported concussion, but did not sustain a serious
injury, according to a senior leadership source on the train.
A statement from Amtrak said the crash happened at 11:20 a.m. in Crozet, Virginia.
"Two Amtrak crew members and two passengers
were transported to a local hospital with minor injuries. Local law
enforcement is investigating the incident," the statement said.
Train taking GOP lawmakers to retreat hits truck4:22
The National Transportation Safety Board said it was sending a Go-Team to the scene of the accident.
At around 1:15 p.m., the train had left Crozet and was heading back to a station in Charlottesville, Virginia.
Arizona Sen. Jeff Flake described feeling a
“big impact” during the crash and then making his way to help one of the
injured. He had been traveling with his wife and 18-year-old son in one
of the front cars of the train.
“I knew there were going to be bad injuries,
so I worked my way back thinking they might need people to help carry
people to ambulances, and they did,” he said, calling the accident a
“terrible scene.”
Flake said he saw there was one fatality, "who
they worked on for quite a while while I was there and we were tending
to the other injured person."
Louisiana Sen. Bill Cassidy and Ohio Rep. Brad
Wenstrup, both physicians, were among others who helped the injured,
Flake said.
Flake said the front car of the train derailed during the crash and that the impact "smashed the truck pretty badly."
Emergency
personnel work at the scene of a train crash in Crozet, Virginia,
involving an Amtrak passenger train carrying dozens of GOP lawmakers to a
Republican retreat in on Wednesday, Jan. 31, 2018. Zack Wajsgrasu / The Daily Progress via AP
Rep. Pete Sessions, R-Texas, who was traveling
with his wife, described the accident scene as “a mess,” with trash
strewn up to 80 yards away.
“The truck is completely smashed,” Sessions told MSNBC.
The crossing where the crash occurred was
equipped with flashing lights as well as gates on both sides of the
track, sources told NBC News.
Texas Rep. Michael Burgess said on MSNBC
shortly after that "both of the crossing arms were down" by the time he
had exited the train and it did appear "the lights were functional."
Several lawmakers tweeted about the incident and said they were uninjured.
“Our train heading to the GOP Retreat in West
Virginia has been involved in an accident,” tweeted Sen. James Lankford,
of Oklahoma. “I am safe but first responders are treating minor
injuries on the train & treating the truck drivers.”
A post on Kansas Rep. Roger Marshall’s Twitter account said the “train hit a garbage truck, they're asking for doctors on the trains to help.”
Emergency
first responders and passengers from an Amtrak passenger train carrying
Republican members of Congress carry one of the injured across train
tracks to an ambulance after the train collided with a garbage truck in
Crozet, Virginia, on Jan. 31. Justin Ide / Crozet Volunteer Fire Department Handout via Reuters
Marshall's Twitter account later
posted that the lawmaker performed CPR "on train conductor, and helped
the two people in the garbage truck who are now in the ambulance. They
are injured badly."
Marshall, a licensed obstetrician, later told
MSNBC that he first tried to help the deceased victim, but "couldn't
find a pulse, so we started CPR and worked on that person for several,
several minutes and just didn’t go real well for that gentlemen we just
could never get him resuscitated, I'm afraid."
He added that at some point he and another
lawmaker "decided we needed to focus all of our attention on the other
person who at least had a pulse."
He said the victim had suffered “major head trauma, internal trauma — it’s just too gruesome to even talk about.”
House Speaker Paul Ryan was on the train but
was not injured, a source told NBC News. Senate Majority Leader Mitch
McConnell was not on the train, a spokesperson said. Ryan said on Twitter that the incident was "a terrible tragedy."
The GOP retreat will proceed with an adjusted program, a spokesperson for the Congressional Institute said in the statement.
"The program will now include a moment of
prayer for those involved in today’s incident and a security briefing
from the Sergeant at Arms and United State Capitol Police," the
statement said.
President Donald Trump spoke to and received
an update on the incident from Ryan, and is continuing to be updated on
the situation, press secretary Sanders said. Vice President Mike Pence tweeted that he was also getting regular updates on the crash.
"Praying for all involved & grateful for the swift action of first responders," he said.
Pence is scheduled to address the retreat
dinner Wednesday evening. As of now, there are no changes to that plan, a
White House official said. This is a breaking story, please check back f
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