Four Killed In Mississippi Train Accident

In Biloxi, Mississippi, a freight train smashed into a charter bus, leaving four people dead. Rescuers then spent over an hour removing passengers from the heavily damaged bus, eventually cutting through the frame to extract the last of the passengers.

The Los Angeles Times reported that the bus, pushed at least 300 feet down the tracks, was seen straddling a CSX Transportation locomotive pushed up against its side. It was said to have stopped on the tracks when the 52-car train slammed into it. Biloxi Police Chief John Miller noted that there had been no clear reason regarding the accident, adding that the police did not know whether or not a mechanical issue took place.

The police allegedly described the crash as a “terrible, chaotic scene” where 35 out of the total 46 passengers on the bus operated by Echo Transportation have been hospitalized. The bus was traveling from Hollywood in Bay St. Louis to Boomtown in Biloxi and is confirmed to be privately chartered and transporting patrons from Holywood Gulf Coast Casino 45 miles away from the site of the accident.

WLOX station also noted tha the train crossing the site of the crash had already previously been in trouble. Only two months ago, a separate CSX train slammed into a delivery truck from Pepsi when the said truck got stuck on the tracks.

Medical workers from a nearby hospital also set up a triage area by the scene as helicopters carried other injured passengers to other hospitals. The train crew, however, remained uninjured. The dangerous crossing was said to have warning lights and gates, with Federal Railroad Agency noting that 10 trains a day usually use the track at a maximum speed of 45 mph.

Elisa Fox, the lawyer for the bus company, said that they cannot confirm anything at this point in the series, although they are “trying to mobilize assets and assess.” The Federal Railroad Administration, meanwhile, is sending three inspectors to investigate the problem.