(The Associated Press circulated the following article on May 19.)
RIVIERA BEACH, Fla. — An Amtrak train crashed into a semitrailer truck sitting at a railroad crossing Thursday on the outskirts of West Palm Beach, authorities said. Seven people were hurt.
Those injured were all occupants of nearby vehicles struck by flying parts of the smashed trailer. They were taken to a hospital with minor injuries, said Riviera Beach police spokeswoman Rose Anne Brown.
“There’s a lot of blessed people around here,” Brown said.
The train, bound from Miami to New York, was carrying 104 passengers and 12 crew members, said Amtrak spokesman Marc Magliari. No one aboard was injured.
Nor was the truck driver, who apparently was stopped at a red light with his trailer on the tracks, said Palm Beach Fire Rescue Deputy Chief Steve Delai. As the train passed, it “knocked the semi into at least five vehicles,” Delai said.
The train engineer said the crossing signal was working, Magliari said. “These kinds of incidents are always avoidable if operators of vehicles, cars or trucks, heed the warning signals and, in this case, make certain that they can clear the crossing before proceeding over it,” he said.