Amtrak sued the city of Detroit in federal court today over a March crash that happened after firefighters parked a fire engine on the railroad tracks.
Amtrak accused city firefighters of placing the fire engine in danger of being struck by a train and “failing to exercise ordinary care,” according to the lawsuit, filed today in U.S. District Court in Detroit. The crash happened near the Lonyo and John Kronk intersection on March 1.
The train was traveling west when it crossed Lonyo. The train engineer saw the fire engine parked on the tracks and applied the emergency brakes but was unable to avoid crashing into the vehicle.
The city is liable for damages because it owned or leased the fire engine, according to the lawsuit.
Amtrak says it has suffered more than $75,000 in losses because of the crash.
The full story is on the Detroit News website.