PALATKA, Fla. — Communication breakdowns hampered rescue efforts after an Amtrak Auto Train derailed in rural Putnam County in April, according to emergency officials, according to a wire service.
The communications issue arose Thursday when officials from Amtrak, hospitals, fire-rescue and law-enforcement agencies met to evaluate their response. The session is required by the National Transportation Safety Board.
“It took several attempts in this area to get out with a cell phone,” Amtrak Safety Engineer Tom McConnell said. “I can speak from personal experience.”
Four people were killed and more than 150 injured when the train, bound for Lorton, Va., after departing Sanford, derailed three miles south of Crescent City on April 18. Although a cause has not yet been determined, the train’s engineer reported seeing a buckle in the track just before the accident.
Crescent City Police Officer Anthony Rodriguez was the first to respond to the scene of scattered train cars and dozens of wounded passengers.
The portable radio Rodriguez carried didn’t work at the accident site, along U.S. 17 near the Volusia-Putnam county border. “We had to go back to our cars if we wanted to get something to the Sheriff’s Office,” he said. The cars had better radios.
Also, the 911 call that an Amtrak “Auto Train” was involved in an accident had some officers at first believing they were responding to a train that had hit a car.
And there were some communication glitches as dozens of rescue workers from eight counties attempted to help the injured.
Hospital officials criticized Amtrak for not keeping them up to date on how many patients might be sent to their emergency rooms.
Nearly 10 hospitals from Jacksonville to Orlando were on alert. Some were swamped, while more distant medical facilities received only a handful of injured passengers.
Dan Kelly, chief executive officer for Putnam Community Medical Center, said a central Amtrak contact person was needed. He said they spoke to five Amtrak officials.
Conversely, McConnell said when news media arrived, he had difficulty acquiring information on Amtrak passengers from the hospital.
But considering the magnitude of the wreck and its isolated location, Amtrak officials said they had nothing but praise for local rescue agencies.
“It was organized chaos at that point,” McConnell said. “We had more than 400 people on that train. We had quite a logistical nightmare to contend with.”