KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The owner of the dump truck involved in June’s derailment of the Southwest Chief has a federal judge to halt a lawsuit by Amtrak and BNSF Railway, saying the federal investigation of the accident prevents it from responding to allegations.
KMBC-TV reports MS Contracting says federal law prevents the company from commenting during investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board, and seeks a stay of the suit because it would be “highly prejudicial” to the company for the suit to proceed “prior to the public release of the NTSB as to its investigation of the accident.”
The NTSB generally says it can take up to 18 months to complete an investigation and issue a report.
A truck owned by the company was struck by the Southwest Chief at a grade crossing near Mendon, Mo., on June 27, derailing the train; the truck’s driver and three passengers were killed. Amtrak and BNSF filed suit June 30, claiming negligence on the part of the company led to the accident [see “Amtrak and BNSF, widow of truck driver file suits …,” Trains News Wire, July 1, 2022].
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