Here Are The Worst Amtrak Crashes In History

Federal officials descended on rural Virginia after an Amtrak train carrying Republican members of Congress to a GOP retreat crashed into a truck in Albemarle County onWednesday. The White House confirmed there was one fatality and one serious injury. The train was heading to a GOP gathering in Greenbrier, West Virginia.

The crash caused minor injuries to passengers onboard the train, according to authorities and media reports. There were no serious injuries among members of Congress or their staffs, the White House said in a statement. President Donald Trump has been briefed on the situation and is receiving regular updates.

As with any crash, federal investigators will delve into what happened, with more scrutiny possible because of the high-profile passengers traveling on the Amtrak train. This is the fourth crash involving Amtrak in the last two months, with at least one person killed in each mishap. (For more news like this, find your local Patch here. If you have an iPhone, click here to get the free Patch iPhone app; download the free Patch Android app here.)

Here's a look at some recent Amtrak crashes and the worst in its history:

Jan. 16, 2018, Dixon, California: A driver died after his car collided with an Amtrak train.

Jan. 14, 2018, Whitakers, North Carolina: A train hit an SUV that went around a lowered crossing gate, killing the two in the car.

Dec. 18, 2017,DuPont, Washington: An Amtrak riding for the first along a new section of track derailed south of Tacoma, killing three and injuring dozens more, according to officials. Several derailed train cars fell onto the highway, but no drivers died, according to local authorities. The train was carrying 77 passengers and seven crew.

June 27, 2017, Washington, DC: A train coming southbound toward Union Station hit and killed two workers. The workers were checking out a technical issue on a train when the crash happened.

June 26, 2017, Trindad, Colorado: An Amtrak passenger train collided with a van, killing five people who were in the van. No passengers on the train were hurt.

April 3, 2016, Chester, Pennsylvania: An Amtrak train carrying more than 300 passengers and traveling more than 100 mph plowed into a backhoe on tracks outside of Philadelphia, killing two workers operating the construction equipment, injuring at least 35 others. The force of the crash derailed the lead engine, crumpled its nose, shattered its windshield and blew out windows in the passengers cars.

May 12, 2015, Philadelphia: An Amtrak passenger train carrying more than 200 passengers from Washington, DC heading to New York derailed in north Philadelphia. The train had been reaching speeds over 100 mph before it left the tracks and flipped over, killing eight people. The National Transportation Safety Board found the train's driver had been distracted when the train accelerated to over 100 mph before hitting a curve, which has a 50 mph speed limit.

June 23, 2014, Mansfield, Massachusetts: A train carrying nearly 200 people derailed after striking a car. The three people in the car died in the crash happening in Boston's southern suburb.

On Nov. 29, 2012, Orlando, Florida: A train crashed into a dump truck at a crossing, killing the truck driver and injuring seven.

July 11, 2011, North Berwick, Maine: A garbage truck driver was killed when a train struck the truck on a crossing and caught fire.

June 24, 2011, Nevada: A train going from Chicago to California was struck by a tractor trailer 70 miles east of Reno, Nevada. The crash killed six people and injured 15. The driver was killed instantly. The NTSB found the driver had not been attentive and did not properly brake.

May 6, 2003, Hinesville, Georgia: A train collided with a truck on a crossing, killing both the train and truck drivers.

Aug. 2, 2003, Raleigh, North Carolina: A train collided with a dump truck on a crossing, killing two people in the truck and injuring 15 train passengers.

March 15, 1999, Bourbonnais, Illinois: A passenger train going from Chicago to New Orleans derailed after colliding with a semi truck, killing 13 people. The collision crushed and twisted some of the cars, which also burst into flames. The NTSB found the truck driver had been trying to pass over the crossing, but state police also found track circuit malfunction.

Feb. 16, 1996, Silver Spring, Maryland: An Amtrak and MARC train collided after the MARC crew neglected to stop in time for a signal just north of DC. The crash killed 11 people and injured dozens of others. It also resulted in new federal rules on passenger car design from the Federal Railroad Administration.

Sept. 22, 1993, Mobile, Alabama: In Amtrak's worst crash to date, a barge struck a swing bridge, bringing it out of alignment. A train went over the bridge at 70 mph, causing the birdge to collapse and the fuel tanks to catch fire. 47 people died and 103 were injured.

Dec. 19, 1989, Stockton, California: a train carrying 150 people crashed into a truck carrying Hershey's chocolate syrup, causing the trail to derail, flip over and catch fire. The driver of the truck and two train engineers died and dozens were injured.

Sept. 29, 1989, Catlett, Virginia: A train heading to New Orleans crashed into a fire truckresponding to a fire. Two firefighters were killed and 81 people were injured. The train was traveling just under the 79 mph speed limit.

Jan. 4, 1987, Chase, Maryland: A train collided with three others that failed to stop at signals in Baltimore County. Sixteen people were killed, the engineer and lounge car attendant, and 164 were injured.

July 23, 1984, Queens, New York: two Amtrak trains crashed into viaduct 80 feet above a street in Queens, New York City, killing one and injuring 125.

July 11, 1984, McBee, South Carolina: A train hit a gasoline truck at a crossing, killing the engineer and the truck driver. The truck exploded, covering much of the train in flames. It had been the third fatal Amtrak crash in one week.

July 7, 1894, Williston, Vermont: A train carrying 278 people derailed in northwestern Vermont, killing five people and injuring hundreds more. The train had struck a washed out culvert, trapping some people in a crushed passenger car.

July 4, 1984, Elgin, South Carolina: A train crashed into a parked truck at a crossing, killing the two people inside.

Photo of Jan. 31, 2018 crash courtesy Rachel Bade, used with permission