MENDON, Mo. (KMOX - AP) — More lawsuits filed over Monday's deadly Amtrak train derailment in Chariton County, north of Columbia.
Amtrak and BNSF filed suit against the dump truck owner Thursday. The day before, the widow of the truck driver filed against Amtrak and Chariton County.
The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the deadly collision that killed four people and injured 150 others.
The chief elected official in the Missouri county where the Amtrak train slammed into a dump truck said Tuesday that residents and county leaders have been pushing for a safety upgrade at the railroad crossing for nearly three years.
Amtrak’s Southwest Chief was traveling from Los Angeles to Chicago when it struck the rear of the truck. Two locomotives and eight cars derailed. Amtrak officials said about 275 passengers and 12 crew members were aboard.
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National Transportation Safety Board Chairwoman Jennifer L. Homendy said at a news conference that the truck was owned by MS Contracting of Brookfield, Missouri, and was transporting material to a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers project nearby.
The passenger train was going about 87 mph (140 kph) when it collided with a dump truck the NTSB said Wednesday.
The speed limit is 90 mph (145 kph) at the crossing where the collision occurred Monday in western Missouri, NTSB Chairwoman Jennifer Homendy said. The Southwest Chief was traveling about 89 mph (143 kph) when it began blowing its horn about a quarter mile (400 meters) from the collision site, she said.
The early investigation found no concerns with the train’s brakes or other mechanical issues, Homendy said.
The crossing, which had no lights or other signals to warn about an approaching train, is “very steep” and Homendy acknowledged area residents had expressed concerns about it before the crash.
The truck driver, 54-year-old Billy Barton II, of Brookfield, Missouri, died in the collision, the Chariton County coroner said.
Two train passengers — Rochelle Cook, 58, and Kim Holsapple, 56, both of DeSoto, Kansas, died at the scene. A third passenger, 82-year-old Binh Phan, of Kansas City, Missouri, died Tuesday at a hospital.
Amtrak officials said about 275 passengers and 12 crew members were aboard.