Kansas company admits fault in causing Amtrak derailment; trial canceled

November 28, 2018

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A feed company whose truck rolled down a hill and crashed into railroad tracks in Cimarron, Kan., in March 2016 has admitted fault and avoided a trial on the matter.

This aerial view provided by the Kansas Highway Patrol in March 2016 shows derailed cars from the Southwest Chief.

Amtrak’s Southwest Chief derailed on those same tracks about 15 hours later, and 28 people aboard the Los Angeles-to-Chicago train were hurt.
The Associated Press reported that Cimarron Crossing Feeders said in a court filing that an employee was negligent in not setting the truck’s brake, allowing it to roll.
The National Transportation Safety Board determined last November that the probable cause of the derailment was that driver’s failure to properly secure his unattended truck, which struck the BNSF railroad tracks and caused them to misalign.
NTSB also ruled the failure of the truck’s driver and his supervisor to report the incident to local authorities was a contributing cause in the accident.