(The Associated Press circulated the following story by Kathy Hanrahan on April 7.)
JACKSON, Miss. — Registered nurse Iris Giorgi said she did what came naturally when her Amtrak train passenger car spilled off the track in an isolated and rugged part of central Mississippi — she borrowed her son-in-law’s shoes and got to work.
Giorgi, 71, from Glendora, Calif, was beginning to relax shortly before nine cars of the northbound City of New Orleans spilled off elevated tracks late Tuesday in Yazoo County. After taking off her shoes, the train began shaking.
“A conductor walked through and said, ‘This is the worst part of the track,'” Giorgi said. Then the jerking began, sending the cars down an embankment and onto their sides and slamming passengers against walls.
One woman died and up to 60 others were injured, some seriously. Many of those who escaped injury spent Tuesday night and Wednesday at a Jackson hotel, gathering in the lobby to swap stories.
“I don’t know whether I was in an angel’s arms or not, but I knew I was going to be OK,” said Jackson passenger Charlie Brenner, 48.
Strangers became allies and unlikely heroes saved lives.
Giorgi found herself trapped in the bottom portion of her car, which slid to a stop on its side. Her sons-in-law, Arthur Bazam, 60, and George Bazam, 45, pushed open windows, which were then facing skyward, and used a trash can as a step to get out.
After helping several passengers, the two lifted Giorgi out of the car.
Giorgi, a nurse since 1988, said she immediately heard the cries of injured passengers trapped inside the cars. After borrowing George Bazam’s shoes, she walked across the tops of the cars to reach a woman writhing in pain.
“She just kept saying, ‘It’s so painful,'” Giorgi said.
The unidentified California woman was complaining of severe back pain. She and her husband, who were traveling to Chicago, spent part of their 25th wedding anniversary waiting for rescue. Giorgi checked the woman’s vital signs and monitored her condition.
College student Jeffrey Miller Jr. assisted passengers trapped in the lounge car.
Miller, a 19-year-old student from Grambling University, was en route to Chicago to be the best man in his friends wedding. The couple, Anika and Alvin Collins, was with Miller. They had been married earlier but wanted to have a more formal ceremony with Anika’s family in Chicago.
Miller said the first sign of trouble came as he watched a movie in the lounge car. He said he noticed shaking, and then his world turned on its side.
After the derailment, Miller found he was unharmed and set out to help free others trapped underneath seats. After pulling several people from the car, Miller said he moved to neighboring cars to help with the rescue.
Alvin and Anika Collins escaped but lost their wedding rings and Anika’s wedding dress. Instead of searching for the dress, Miller and Alvin Collins said they joined in helping others.
“I am just happy that I am alive and here to see another day,” Miller said.