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Silver Star (91) vs Freight Train in Cayce, SC; 2 Fatalities 2/4/18


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#1 CNJRoss

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Posted 04 February 2018 - 07:33 AM

WCHP-TV High Point, NC 2/4/18:
 

Two killed in crash involving Amtrak train, freight train in South Carolina

 

 

LEXINGTON COUNTY, S.C. — Two people were killed in a crash involving a freight train and an Amtrak passenger train headed to Miami early Sunday in South Carolina, authorities said.

 

In addition to the fatalities, more than 50 people were injured, according to Derrec Becker of South Carolina Emergency Management Division. 

 

Amtrak Train 91 was involved in the crash with a CSX freight train about 2:35 a.m. in Cayce. The lead engine and some passenger cars derailed, Amtrak said in a statement.

 

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#2 KevinKorell

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Posted 04 February 2018 - 10:49 AM

Amtrak website:

 

 

 

Amtrak Train 91 Derailment

February 4, 2018

 

Amtrak Train 91, operating between New York and Miami, came in contact with a CSX freight train at around 2:35 am in Cayce, South Carolina.

 

The lead engine derailed, as well as some passenger cars. There were 8 crew members and approximately 139 passengers, with injuries reported. People who have questions about passengers on the train can contact us at 800-523-9101.


Local authorities are on the scene responding. More information will be provided as available.



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#3 KevinKorell

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Posted 04 February 2018 - 12:58 PM

Jacksonville,  FL Business Journal, 2/4/18:

 


 

Source: CSX maintainers had been working at site of Sunday's deadly train accident

 

 

 

CSX Corp. signal maintainers recently had been working in the area where a deadly Amtrak crash happened early Sunday morning, according to a source familiar with the railroad's operations.

 

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#4 KevinKorell

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Posted 04 February 2018 - 01:11 PM

The State, Columbia, SC, 2/4/18:
 


‘You instantly knew it was bad’: Local resident recounts scene of fatal Amtrak crash


 
 
Elliot Smith, 22, of West Columbia said he was at a friend’s house off of Fish Hatchery Road about 2:30 or 2:45 when they heard Sunday’s fatal Amtrak crash, which he said was about three miles away.
 
The crash sounded like a propane tank had exploded.

 
 
 
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#5 KevinKorell

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Posted 04 February 2018 - 01:16 PM

The State, Columbia, SC, 2/4/18:

 

 

 

‘Influx of patients’ to local hospitals after Amtrak train accident

 

 

Palmetto Health and its Columbia-area hospitals are shouldering the load of caring for passengers injured in the Amtrak crash Sunday morning.

 

Two people were killed in the crash.

 

Story



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#6 CNJRoss

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Posted 04 February 2018 - 04:32 PM

ABC news 1:34 pm EST 2/4/18:
 

Amtrak may have been on wrong track in crash that killed 2, but it says freight line controls signals

 

 

A Miami-bound Amtrak train appeared to be on the wrong track when it collided with a freight train in South Carolina early Sunday morning, killing two people and injuring 116, according to authorities, but officials with the passenger railroad said the freight line controls signaling and dispatch on the rails.

 

The two people who died were the train conductor and engineer, the county coroner said.

 

South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster said at a news conference that a CSX freight train appeared to be on a loading track when the Amtrak train with 147 people aboard slammed into it at 2:35 a.m. in Cayce, South Carolina, just east of Columbia.

 

SNIP

 

The two Amtrak employees killed Sunday are 54-year-old Michael Kempf, the train engineer, and 36-year-old Michael Cella, the train conductor, said Margaret Fisher, coroner for Lexington County, South Carolina. Kempf was from Savannah, George, and Cella from Orange Park, Florida, Fisher said.

 

Continue here w/video report.

 

My thoughts:

Is the SC Governor 'qualifified' to state "It appears that the Amtrak was on the wrong track,  .  .  ."?

 

Unusual that the Amtrak conductor was riding in the cab.  We may learn later that the second person was not the conductor for this train.

 

-Ross



#7 CNJRoss

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Posted 04 February 2018 - 04:37 PM

The State, Columbia, SC:

 
NTSB chairman heads to Columbia, his hometown. He graduated from Dreher High, USC

February 04, 2018 11:20 AM

 

 

Robert Sumwalt III, the head of the National Transportation Safety Board and a Columbia native, is heading to the Midlands in response to the Amtrak crash in Cayce, Gov. Henry McMaster said.

 

Sumwalt, of Columbia’s Heathwood neighborhood, was nominated to lead the agency by President Donald Trump, confirmed by the U.S. Senate and sworn in in August.

 

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#8 CNJRoss

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Posted 04 February 2018 - 04:44 PM

Amtrak service alert:

 
Amtrak Train 91 Derailment

February 4, 2018

 

 

We are deeply saddened to report the death of two of our employees in this morning’s derailment in Cayce, South Carolina. Additionally, affected customers reporting injuries have been transported to local hospitals.

 

We are cooperating fully with the NTSB, which is leading the investigation, as well as working with FRA and CSX. CSX owns and controls the Columbia Subdivision where the accident occurred. CSX maintains all of the tracks and signal systems. CSX controls the dispatching of all trains, including directing the signal systems which control the access to sidings and yards.

 

Amtrak is working to take care of everyone who was on the train, including family members of our passengers and crew.

 

 Details:

Amtrak Train 91, operating between New York and Miami, came in contact with a CSX freight train at around 2:35 a.m. ET in Cayce, South Carolina. The lead engine derailed, as well as some passenger cars. There were 8 crew members and approximately 139 customers on board. Local authorities are on the scene responding.

 

Customer information:

People who have questions about customers on the train can contact us at 800-523-9101.

 

Service information:

Due to this incident and the resulting temporary track closure, Trains 91 & 92, the Amtrak Silver Star will detour between Hamlet, N.C., and Savannah,Ga., until further notice. Passengers will be provided alternate transportation to missed stops, as available.

 

Other Amtrak services along the Atlantic Coast, including the Auto Train (Trains 52 & 53), Palmetto (Trains 89 & 90) and Silver Meteor (Trains 97 & 98) are operating normally.

 



#9 KevinKorell

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Posted 04 February 2018 - 07:12 PM

 

My thoughts:

Is the SC Governor 'qualifified' to state "It appears that the Amtrak was on the wrong track,  .  .  ."?

 

Unusual that the Amtrak conductor was riding in the cab.  We may learn later that the second person was not the conductor for this train.

 

My thoughts exactly.   A conductor should have been anywhere but in the train's engine.   And in TV reports of the incident, I saw the SC Governor interviewed, and then other stories quoted the Governor as the reliable official at the scene.  He obviously said only when he was told by others.  While it appears true that the train was on the wrong track, stating it in the manner he did implies that the engineer made a mistake.  Engineers don't steer trains onto tracks, it's the dispatching railroad who controls the switches.  If he did realize what had happened before he perished in the wreck, he would have had little time to react and little effect to putting the train in an emergency stop.

 

What further concerns me though is this, alluding to Amtrak CEO Anderson:

 

He said the signaling system that controls traffic on the four tracks in the area was down for maintenance.

If it were the case that the signals were down, wouldn't there be a decreased speed limit of, say, 10 mph?



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#10 CNJRoss

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Posted 04 February 2018 - 08:06 PM

CBS News, 6:33 pm EST 2/4/18:
 

Amtrak train crash in South Carolina leaves 2 dead, 116 injured - live updates

 

 

CAYCE, S.C. -- At least two people were killed and 116 others injured when a train traveling from New York to Miami struck a freight train Sunday morning, authorities said. The crash left thousands of gallons of oil spilled at the scene near Columbia, South Carolina.

The collision occurred in Cayce around 2:45 a.m. Sunday, Lexington County spokesperson Harrison Cahill said. He said the passenger injuries ranged from scratches to broken bones.

 

The two victims were later identified as Amtrak personnel. Lexington County Coroner Margaret Fisher said 54-year-old engineer Michael Kempf and 32-year-old conductor Michael Sella were killed in the collision.

 

"Any time you have anything that happens like that, you expect more fatalities," Fisher said, "but God blessed us, and we only had the two."

 

SNIP

 

The crash happened near a switchyard where railcars hauling automobiles are loaded and unloaded.

 

Robert Sumwalt, chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), said investigators found a switch had been set in a position that forced the Amtrak train off the main track and onto the siding. He said the question for investigators is why that happened.

 

screen-shot-2018-02-04-at-11-27-13-am.pn

CBS News

 

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