Amtrak wreck kills crew member

Sheriff: 'Tracks have been tampered with'

October 9, 1995
Web posted at: 3:15 p.m. EDT

PALO VERDE, Arizona (CNN) -- Amtrak's Sunset Limited derailed early Monday, sending four cars plunging off a trestle in a remote desert area of Arizona. Authorities said the tracks had been tampered with.

At least one person was killed and 65 were reported injured, said Amtrak officials. As many as 12 people were hurt seriously. Amtrak said it believed the person killed was a train crew member.

Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio said evidence found on the tracks indicates the derailment was not an accident 221K AIFF sound or 213K WAV sound). Arpaio would not elaborate on what evidence had been gathered, but authorities showed television cameramen at the scene a broken rail with a coiled red wire nearby. Arpaio and Amtrak confirmed the FBI has been called in to investigate.

Arpaio said two people had been picked up and questioned three miles from the scene of the wreck, but he added, "I don't believe they are involved but we will continue to question them."

A fire department dispatcher said the engineer immediately suspected sabotage. "When the first officer arrived on the scene the engineer ran up to him -- you could hear him shouting over the radio -- telling the officer he thought it was sabotage," the dispatcher said.

The train, carrying 248 passengers and a crew of 20, derailed about 1:30 a.m. PDT (4:30 a.m. EDT) in an area about 60 miles southwest of Phoenix. Only a dirt road leads through rough terrain to the site. Video from the scene showed passenger cars lying on their sides in a sandy desert ravine. Rescue workers pulled passengers through the windows of the cars. Stunned passengers were led down ladders while more seriously injured victims were placed on stretchers.

"We were both awakened at the same time by this violent shaking," said Joyce Mathews from Vancouver, British Columbia, who crawled out of a train window with her daughter, Brynn. "The car began to twist and turn. It was slowly moving and shaking and suddenly, boom. It just went bang and it stopped. We were very lucky. We've seen a lot of injured people." (170K AIFF sound or 170K WAV sound)

Another passenger said he was awake when the accident occurred. "He hit his brakes," the man said. "... In a couple of seconds we were turning over and -- bang -- we were on the bottom of the creek."

Eight of the train's 12 cars and its two engines derailed, but four remain upright, said Amtrak spokeswoman Dawn Soper. The four cars that tumbled off the 15-foot trestle into the ravine included three coach cars and one sleeper.

The Sunset Limited normally runs between Miami, Florida, and Los Angeles. This train, Soper said, left New Orleans on Saturday. Passengers from Florida and points in between had been bused to New Orleans because of Hurricane Opal.

At least 12 medivac helicopters were sent to the scene. Sgt. Tim Campbell of the Maricopa County Sheriff's Department said victims were being flown from the crash site to a staging area set up five miles away. One rescue worker said the rugged desert conditions made it impossible to use ambulances. "Every time we put more than three in an ambulance, the wheels sink into the sand," he said.

The Phoenix Fire Department dispatched its nationally recognized search and rescue team to the scene. In addition, National Guard units were activated to provide rescue equipment and personnel. Five Phoenix area hospitals reported receiving patients.

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Amtrak wreck kills crew member

Sheriff: 'Tracks have been tampered with'

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