Early raw video from fiery Amtrak crash in North Carolina. 11 injured when train derails after hitting truck in Mebane.
Click here for more early raw video showing firefighting operations on the other side of the train.
Thursday evening story from WFMY-TV:
Crews were still on the scene into the late hours of the night finalizing repairs to the railroad track. According to the DOT they had to replace about a block long portion of the track. They were able to remove the train around 9:00 p.m. Thursday night. They’ll take the train to a maintenance yard in Raleigh. DOT crews expected to have the railroad open to traffic sometime Thursday night.
Passengers aboard an Amtrak involved in a wreck are starting to reflect their experiences from Thursday morning.
Emergency crews were called to the track on 5th Street and Center Street in Mebane around 8:00 am.
An Amtrak train, Train No. 73, which was headed from Raleigh to Charlotte, hit a tractor-trailer carrying a CAT brand excavator. The engine of the train caught on fire. The locomotive and three coach cars derailed.
The truck driver, Barry Lazaro, of Wake Forest, claims the lowboy trailer was stuck on the tracks. The driver was able to escape. The truck carrying the equipment belongs to Lazaro Contracting Incorporated Demolish and Clearing.
NCDOT says there are warning signs in the area and the truck should not have been trying to cross the tracks. Investigators estimate the train was going about 70 mph when it hit the tractor-trailer. There is no sensor system at this location to alert engineers of an obstruction.
Amtrak says 36 passengers were onboard the train. The engineer was not seriously injured and did not have to be transported to the hospital.
Kyle Buckner, Chief with Alamance County Rescue, says emergency crews treated people on the scene. WFMY News 2’s Justin Quesinberry says he saw at least three people on stretchers.
Mebane Police say 11 passengers and one crew member taken to area hospitals following the crash.
One person is still listed in serious condition at UNC Hospitals, two others were released from there.
All seven patients at Alamance Regional Hospital were discharged. Two people were taken to Duke Hospital, the hospital will not release word on their conditions.
The Piedmont Carolina Chapter and the Greensboro Chapter of the American Red Cross are responding to those in need. They are providing snacks, beverages and meals to emergency responders. Over the next few hours they will be deploying their mental health and spiritual care volunteers to support victims and their families.
