KANSAS CITY, Mo. — One month before the deadly Amtrak train derailment at a crossing in northern Missouri, the county commission there alerted the state that overgrown brush was obstructing drivers’ views.
Evan Emmerich, Chariton County Presiding Commissioner, provided a timeline to The Kansas City Star showing the commission’s involvement with the Porche Prairie Avenue crossing where two locomotives and eight cars derailed on Monday, killing four and injuring 150. As of Wednesday, at least 13 remained in Missouri hospitals.
The crash occurred when the train struck a dump truck that was on the track near Mendon, Missouri, about 100 miles northeast of Kansas City. Residents in the area have shared concerns for years with the state and the BNSF Railway, which owns the track, about what they describe as a dangerous crossing.
