READING, Ohio (WKRC) - A fourth person has now died from their injuries after an Amtrak train derailed in Missouri en route to Chicago. Several members of a local church were on board when it crashed.
The members from Our Lady of the Valley parish in Reading hope to be home sometime Tuesday evening. However, one was still in the hospital with serious injuries.
Parishioner Beth Pettigrew says four teens with the mission trip jumped into action immediately after the crash. Her 13-year-old girl was one of the first to call 911.
"She gave them all the information about how many cars were flipped and whether people were trapped. She could see that they had hit a truck that was filled with gravel or rocks, she said," Pettigrew said.
Meanwhile, the teen boys on the trip were removing the emergency windows and pulling people to safety.
"They lifted a baby out through the top and helped the mother get out, and they just run into action, all of them did. It's been amazing," Pettigrew said.
The chaperones were several cars away when the crash happened and had no idea if the teens were safe. Luckily, they weren't seriously hurt.
Rescuers took several members to the hospital. All but one has been or will be released. Local 12 is still waiting to hear how a 73-year-old grandmother with a fracture to her back is doing.
"I talked to her before she got to the ambulance, and she said, ‘I think I'm alright. I think I can walk. They won't let me.’ She said, ‘I'm just going to go get checked out,’" Pettigrew said.
Everyone else Pettigrew is with has been helped by members of nearby Zion United Methodist Church.
She says Our Lady of the Valley has been going to St. Mary's Parish in Tohatchi, New Mexico, for more than 20 years. The missionaries go every other year and have been taking Amtrak since 2004.
Some parishioners from Our Lady of the Valley made the trip to meet them halfway and bring them home Tuesday evening.