Out-of-control metaphor kills one person

[Civil War Man]

Train carrying GOP lawmakers crashed into a garbage truck

An Amtrak train carrying Republican members of Congress to a party retreat struck a garbage truck outside Charlottesville, Virginia, on Wednesday.

One person on the truck died and at least one other was badly injured, according to White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Senator Jeff Flake of Arizona and Representative Gus Bilirakis of Florida. There were no serious injuries among the lawmakers and their staff, Sanders said.

One lawmaker was taken to a hospital to be examined, according to Jessica Towhey, spokeswoman for the Congressional Institute, which is running the retreat.

House Speaker Paul Ryan was on the train and wasn’t hurt, a GOP aide said. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell wasn’t on the train.

Representative French Hill of Arkansas said, "Everybody on the train is okay. It was a very sudden jolt to the train, but the train slowed down and is still on the track when it came to a stop."

"There’s a lighted crossing guard where the train crosses," Hill said. "The guardrails were down but the train hit the garbage truck."

Republicans were heading to the Greenbrier resort in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia, for their annual planning retreat, a day after party members cheered for President Donald Trump’s first State of the Union address in Washington.

Amtrak spokeswoman Kimberly Woods said in an email that the train "came into contact with a vehicle that was on the tracks at 11:20 a.m. in Crozet, Virginia."

"There are no reported injuries to passengers or crew members," Woods said. She said local law enforcement is investigating the accident.

The National Transportation Safety Board is sending a "go-team" of investigators to the collision site, the agency said in a tweet. The NTSB will release additional information as it becomes available, it said.

Representative Bill Flores of Texas said some people on the truck were injured but all of the lawmakers on the train were all right as far as he knew. He said some lawmakers who are doctors got off the train to help people in the truck.

"I thought we derailed or something because we heard a huge crash, but then we saw the wreckage on the left side of the train because the train kept going," Flores said.

Bilirakis said, "It was a real hard hit. I was sitting in my seat, but if I was standing up, I would not have been able to keep my balance." He said he was told that buses were being sent for the train passengers.

A train full of Republicans crashes into a garbage truck, killing or seriously injuring a couple blue-collar workers, while none of the Republicans are seriously harmed. It's a little on the nose.

[Zaune]

A train full of Republicans crashes into a garbage truck, killing or seriously injuring a couple blue-collar workers, while none of the Republicans are seriously harmed. It's a little on the nose.

I find this to be in rather poor taste.

Unfortunately, I also think you're absolutely right.

I don't quite know how to feel about this.

[Soontir C'boath]

Condolences to the truckers.

The nose of the locomotive certainly took the blow. Another unit will now sit at Beech Grove hoping for enough money and available parts to fix it... As if there aren't enough locomotives available as is.

I want to assume the truck was stuck on the tracks, but it is not a lowboy trailer by any means. I am curious as to why the truck workers did not attempt to just break through the crossing gates which their truck can easily do aside from shear panic. Or if it is truly stuck, to exit the vehicle and get the fuck away as far as possible for the time being. They are suppose to either call 911 or the railroad number on the crossing gate to report their situation so the railroad dispatcher can warn any trains coming.

[LadyTevar]

I want to assume the truck was stuck on the tracks, but it is not a lowboy trailer by any means. I am curious as to why the truck workers did not attempt to just break through the crossing gates which their truck can easily do aside from shear panic. Or if it is truly stuck, to exit the vehicle and get the fuck away as far as possible for the time being. They are suppose to either call 911 or the railroad number on the crossing gate to report their situation so the railroad dispatcher can warn any trains coming.

I agree. There's no reason why that truck should have been on the tracks. They should have seen the lights, seen the rails coming down. This was Death By Stupidity on the part of the garbagemen.

[Broomstick]

Unless, of course, the lights and crossing gates malfunctioned - while extremely rare that has occured (I have a friend whose van, along with several other vehicles, were hit by a train at a cross with poor visibility and inoperative signals. He did survive, not everyone else did). Which, of course, is also why every "go-team" sent to investigate such a crash checks the crossing features.

Other than that - who knows? Maybe the survivors from the truck, if the accident didn't give them a bit of amnesia. People ignore gates and lights all the time, getting away with it until the day they don't. Death is a high price to pay for that, worse yet if you're a passenger and not the driver.

One things for sure - in the case of a train vs. other vehicle the train almost always wins*. Yep, if you're stuck on the track get out and get clear. You can replace a car or a truck, yourself not so much.

* In this case the truck arguably won, or at least the steel coil that got loose did. Demolished part of the train, the tractor part of the truck was reusable and the truck driver unhurt. Which is why around here steel-hauling trucks are called "Michigan Trains" - because they're going to Michigan, to the auto industry, and because they're heavy and unable to stop quickly. And in a train vs. "Michigan Train" conflict the truck might actually come out of the accident with less damage than the train.

[LadyTevar]

Reports from the scene say the lights were functioning and the arms were down. Therefore, the truck driver had to have seen them.
There seems to have been three people in the garbage truck, driver and two others. One of the passengers/workers was Dead on Scene. The second passenger was air-lifted to University of Virginia Medical Center in Charlottesville, roughly ten miles from scene, in "critical condition". The driver himself was taken by ambulance and was in serious condition.

Wednesday, UVA Medical Center stated it had received six patients from the accident. One remains in critical condition, one is in fair condition, and the other four were all released as of Thursday morning.
SOURCE

[Soontir C'boath]

Speculating I know, but looking at the accident, the truck's cab looks relatively fine with airbags deployed and no sign of it being hit by the train while the garbage end of it has taken noticeable damage. The locomotive's front is mainly damaged on its left half side suggesting it was a glancing blow to the truck's back end. Both the cab and the garbage trailer separated on the same side of the track as well. Seems if the truck was a few yards further, it would've just been a near miss which would make this rather unfortunate indeed.

Sad note for railfans, it was P42 #145 which carried the Phase III heritage scheme for Amtrak. I had the opportunity to have that locomotive when I traveled on their Autumn excursion last fall.

[The Romulan Republic]

A train full of Republicans crashes into a garbage truck, killing or seriously injuring a couple blue-collar workers, while none of the Republicans are seriously harmed. It's a little on the nose.

I'd be tempted to sig this if my Abe Lincoln quote wasn't taking up all available space.

[Simon_Jester]

Honestly, I think you should consider swapping it out. It's been a while, and since you haven't moved to Russia yet, I'm not sure it's applicable.

[The Romulan Republic]

Honestly, I think you should consider swapping it out. It's been a while, and since you haven't moved to Russia yet, I'm not sure it's applicable.

Well, I don't mean it literally, and I doubt Lincoln did either (when push came to shove, after all, he stayed in his country and fought, rather than trying to leave).

I chose it because its just God damn spooky (and terrifying) how much some of the issues of Lincoln's time are echoed by those today, and because Lincoln is a far more eloquent spokesman than I could ever hope to be. I've often found myself wishing we had someone like Lincoln in our political dialogue today.

That, and the bit about Russia is just a hilarious coincidence from a contemporary point of view.