Sept. 13, 2001--
An Amtrak train crashed into a freight train, derailed and caught fire Thursday, but the passengers escaped without serious injury, officials said.
Six were taken to hospitals for treatment of broken bones and smoke inhalation.
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The train was the California Zephyr heading from Chicago to Emeryville, Calif., said Amtrak spokeswoman Cheryle Jackson in Chicago. Amtrak says 263 passengers and 14 crew members were on board. Two locomotives were pulling 15 cars, including seven passenger cars.
Officials at the scene said is appeared the eastbound Union Pacific freight train was pulling onto a siding to allow the Amtrak train to pass when the collision occurred. Tooele County Sheriff Frank Scharmann said the Amtrak train was going about 30 miles an hour when it struck the middle of the freight train.
"It's just an accident. There's no suspicion of any foul play," Scharmann said.
Utah Public Safety Commissioner Robert Flowers, also on the scene, said the Amtrak train was going too fast.
LDS Hospital spokesman Jess Gomez said three people were taken by helicopter to Salt Lake hospitals and three others were taken by ambulance. Other passengers suffered cuts and bruises.
The one woman flown to LDS Hospital had a history of asthma, Gomez said.
The five others were taken to University of Utah Health Sciences Center. Three of those were Amtrak employees.
Sam Fresquez, 57, of Sandy, is an Amtrak engineer. He was treated for smoke inhalation and was in stable condition Thursday morning, said Anne Brillinger, a university spokeswoman.
Off-duty Amtrak conductor John Sutter, 43, of Carson City, Nev., was being treated for smoke inhalation and arm and chest pain.
Ronald McMillen, 58, of Kearns, another Amtrak engineer, was treated for first and second-degree burns over less than 1 percent of his body, as well as for minor cuts.
The uninjured passengers were put on buses, Jackson said.
The trains collided in a desolate area of salt flats and desert. Smoke billowed from one of the cars, but three hours after the accident no flames could be seen.
Wendover is in western Utah on the Nevada line, some 120 miles west of Salt Lake City.
The accident east of Wendover happened at about 5:30 a.m. Both were derailed, said Kari Sagers, Tooele County's emergency management director. All the cars remained upright, Amtrak said, but at least one locomotive and a baggage car burned.
Amtrak is an alternative for people wanting to travel across the country two days after terrorist attacks in New York and Washington closed airports.
(Copyright 2001 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
