RENO, Nev. — A semitrailer plowed into an Amtrak passenger train Friday in rural Nevada, killing the truck driver and at least one person on the train and injuring about 20 others who escaped the fiery crash, authorities said.
Amtrak spokesman Marc Magliari in Oakland, Calif., said most of the injuries were not life-threatening. He said 204 passengers and 14 crew members were aboard the California Zephyr en route from Chicago to Emeryville, Calif., about 300 miles west of the crash site.
The Zephyr left Denver on Thursday.
The big rig ran into the train about 11:25 a.m. Friday at a crossing on U.S. 95 about 70 miles east of Reno, said Nevada Highway Patrol Trooper Dan Lopez. About 20 people aboard the train were taken to hospitals in Reno and Fallon, but he didn’t know the extent of their injuries.
Lopez said the crossing gates were working. He said he wasn’t sure whether the railroad lights were operating, but he thinks they were.
Amtrak passenger Jim Bickley told Sacramento, Calif., television station KXTV that the tractor-trailer hit the fourth car on the train. Two of the cars caught fire, Lopez said.
Amtrak said anyone with questions about the passengers could call 800-523-9101.
