Just an hour and a half after hitting a car in Mississippi and injuring the driver, an Amtrak train hit another car in Louisiana killing two people. None of the passengers or crew on the train was injured, which was traveling from Chicago to New Orleans.
After the accident in Mississippi, the train stopped for 37 minutes. It is unclear what caused this accident, but it happened on a side street in McComb where the crossing was marked with stop signs. The driver of the car was able to speak with emergency personnel after his car was clipped and spun into a Dumpster.
The railroad crossing in Independence, Louisiana where the second accident occurred does not have crossing bars that lower or lights, but there are signs posted showing that it is a crossing and that drivers should yield. Witnesses report being able to hear the train’s whistle as it approached the crossing where the car was hit. The car apparently pulled out in front of the train, which was traveling almost 80 miles an hour. The car was split in half, and killed driver Beverly Barnett, 48, and passenger Draymond Vinning, 53.
Ronnie Hall, who was a passenger on the train, said that when the train hit the first car, she did not feel anything thing. When the train hit the second car, she felt the train jolt and saw pieces of the car scatter.
The train’s engineer was relieved of duty after the second accident, and Amtrak is reviewing his performance, as well as interviewing the rest of the crew as part of the company’s standard policy.
If you or a loved one has been injured in a train accident, please contact an experienced injury lawyer in your area.
