BENKELMAN, Neb. — At least 22 people were injured Friday morning when the California Zephyr derailed after striking a construction crane on the tracks in southwestern Nebraska.
The Amtrak train, carrying 175 passengers and 17 crew members from California to Chicago by way of Denver, derailed outside Benkelman, near the Colorado border.
Dundy County’s emergency director, Elaine Frasier, said 20 people on the train, including passengers and crew, were taken to hospitals. She said two other people not on the train also were injured, but she didn’t immediately have details about whether they were on the crane or elsewhere on the tracks.
Frasier said none of the injuries — which included neck and back trauma — was critical.
Other passengers were taken to a nearby high school and were to be bused to their destinations.
Amtrak spokesman Mark Magliari said the eastbound train left Denver at 3:42 a.m. Its derailment also delayed the arrival of the westbound Zephyr into Denver.
Waiting for the westbound train Friday morning at the Amtrak station in downtown Denver, passenger Jo-Ann Allison said she wasn’t worried about the delay. “I have plenty of books to read, and I have my DVD player,” she said.
Allison said she doesn’t like to fly and prefers to travel by train.
Paolo Lamperti, 26, who was waiting for the westbound train to take him to San Francisco, said his work as a flight attendant has taught him to expect delays and changes of plan while traveling. Traveling by bus and train for the past two months also has acclimated him to waiting. “It’s all part of the journey,” he said. “But thank God for a wireless connection.”
Denver Post staff writers Caitlin Gibbons and Yesenia Robles contributed to this report.
