Official: Upgrades urged at Amtrak crash site, but no action
By CHARLIE RIEDEL and SUMMER BALLENTINE
Associated Press
MENDON, Mo. (AP) — The chief elected official in the Missouri county where an Amtrak train slammed into a dump truck says residents and county leaders have been pushing for a safety upgrade at the railroad crossing for nearly three years. Meanwhile, the toll rose to four deaths and 150 injuries. A day after the deadly crash on Monday, the Missouri State Highway Patrol said the injured were taken to 10 hospitals with injuries ranging from minor to serious. At least 15 remain hospitalized. The dead — three passengers and the truck driver — have not been identified. The county’s presiding commissioner says the commission first reached out to a state agency in December 2019.