Lawsuits continue to mount in the wake of the fatal June 27 grade crossing collision and derailment of Amtrak’s Southwest Chief, with suits filed Friday on behalf of five passengers and two Amtrak crew members.
Meanwhile, the Kansas City Star reports that, while the crossing where the accident occurred was on a state list of sites needing improvement, BNSF Railway had never been contacted about the location by the Missouri Department of Transportation. A railroad spokeswoman said such communication was crucial to addressing the issue.
Four people were killed and about 150 were transported to hospitals for treatment after the train hit a dump truck and derailed at an unprotected grade crossing for a gravel road near Mendon, Mo.
A St. Louis firm, Schlichter, Bogard and Denton, announced it had filed suit on behalf of four passengers and two crew members, alleging Amtrak, BNSF, and trucking company MS Contracting — owner of the truck that was hit by the train — are responsible for the accident. Lawyer Jerry Schlicter said in a press release that the collision and derailment were “a tragedy that never would have happened, if the railroads had acted on warnings they had for years” regarding the grade crossing.
The firm is representing four passengers from Kansas — Allen Gallaway of Andover, Kimberly Howard of Lawrence, Noel Lucero of Wichita, and Sherri Schwanz of Lansing — and Amtrak conductors Brian Marra and Chris Marzullo, both of Chicago.
Also, the Associated Press reports Janet Williams of Dubuque, Iowa, named Amtrak, BNSF, and MS Contracting in a federal lawsuit filed Friday. Williams suit alleges negligence in the design of the grade crossing near Mendon, Mo., where the accident occurred, and says an overcrowded train led to “cattle car conditions.” William’ suit says she sustained “significant and life-altering injuries.”
WDAF-TV reports the Williams lawsuit claims Amtrak intentionally overcrowded the train to avoid giving refunds, and that the company allowed an excessive amount of baggage to be brought on board: “Amtrak allowed so much luggage to be brought onto the train that the designated luggage car could not hold it all, and Amtrak placed excess luggage in the passenger car lounges.” The suit says Williams suffered injuries to her neck, back, and hip, as well as cuts and bruises.
Amtrak and BNSF filed suit against the truck owner last week, while the wife of the truck driver, one of those killed in the wreck, is suing a BNSF employee and the county where the accident occurred [see “Amtrak and BNSF, widow of truck driver file suits …,” Trains News Wire, July 1, 2022]. A Chicago law firm has also said it will be filing suits on behalf of injured passengers [see “Southwest Chief was traveling at 87 mph …,” News Wire, June 29, 2022].
The Kansas City Star report quotes BNSF’s Lena Kent as saying “we have never been contacted over this crossing to work on a diagnostic review,” which she called “a critical step” in making improvements: “You can’t just, you know, have somebody out there say, ‘Hey, I think we need gates,’ and the next day we show up with some gates. … You have to go through that process.”
A Missouri DOT spokeswoman confirmed that while the railroad was told the crossing at Porche Prairie Avenue was on its priority list, the agency had not contacted BNSF to conduct a review. And once that review takes place, it can take “a couple of years” to do the planning necessary to add crossing gates and lights, MoDOT’s Linda Wilson Horn said.
— Updated on July 8 with additional details from Williams lawsuit.
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