(The following story by Jayette Bolinski appeared on the Galesburg Register-Mail website on December 8.)
BRIGHTON, Ill. – Bridget Wilbon of Springfield was planning merely to make a surprise visit to her mother in East St. Louis. Instead, Wilbon and her son Elijah were among 10 people who were injured when the Amtrak train she was on struck a truck in southwestern Macoupin County Monday morning.
The southbound Amtrak Lincoln Service Train 301, which had a locomotive and four cars, struck the semi about 11:15 a.m. near Brighton. The train derailed, but did not overturn.
Wilbon, who lives in the 2100 block of East Adams Street, said she boarded the train in Springfield about 10:15 a.m. Monday and expected to arrive at the St. Louis station about 12:30 or 1 p.m.
Passengers had no warning of the collision, she said.
“It happened real quick,” she said by phone from her mother’s home Monday night. “I was thrown in the air and back down onto the seat, and my four-year-old son was tossed in the air.”
They barely missed being badly injured when the seat in front of them was torn loose from the floor, she added.
Wilbon suffered “a bad sprain” to her knee and ankle, she said, and a minor back injury. Her left leg was in a splint Monday evening, and she was using crutches. Elijah had a minor head injury, Wilbon said.
They were traveling with a cousin, Maurnesha Wagner of East St. Louis, who also was thrown from her seat when the accident happened. Wagner at first suffered a loss of feeling in the left side of her body as a result of her injuries, Wilbon said, but she also was released from Alton Memorial Hospital late Monday afternoon.
They were among a total of five people who were treated and released at Alton Memorial Hospital following the accident, a hospital spokesman said.
None of the nine passengers and one crewman who were checked at area hospitals was severely injured, according to Amtrak and Illinois State Police representatives.
Chartered buses took the 30 remaining southbound passengers to their destinations in Alton and St. Louis.
Train service was disrupted between Springfield and St. Louis while the Union Pacific tracks at Brighton were closed so workers could remove rail equipment, make repairs and inspect the tracks. The work was to take up to 18 hours, but train service was expected to be restored today.
The crash happened on Mile Station Road at Logan Street in rural Brighton. According to District 18 Illinois State Police in Litchfield, the truck, which was pulling a drop-deck trailer, became stuck on the rail crossing for some reason and was struck by the train.
The driver of the truck, Dustin D. Kroeschel, 24, of Medora was not injured.
About 100 feet of railroad track was destroyed as a result of the crash.
Amtrak arranged for buses to transport passengers on other trains that were affected by the track closure. Anyone with questions about Amtrak service is urged to call 800-USA-RAIL or visit www.Amtrak.com for schedule information and train status updates.