February 17, 1996
Web posted at: 12:10 a.m. EST
SILVER SPRING, Maryland (CNN) -- At least 11 people were killed and 24 injured Friday when a Chicago-bound Amtrak train smashed head-on into a local commuter train during a snowstorm near Silver Spring, Maryland.
Amtrak's popular Capital Limited train, carrying 175
passengers plus 16 crew members, crashed into the Washington,
D.C.-bound Maryland Rail Commuter (MARC) train about 5:45
p.m., roughly half an hour after leaving Washington's Union
Station. The commuter train originated in Brunswick,
Maryland.
Witnesses said they heard an explosion before both trains burst into flames. (408K AIFF sound or 408K WAV sound)
"I was sitting at the window and I heard the noise. It was so loud," said a resident who lives close to the accident site. "I looked out the window and I see all big fire coming out."
Black smoke and steam billowed from the wreckage. Firefighters used ladders and ropes to climb over a 30-foot, snow-covered embankment to reach survivors and put out the fire.
"When the firefighters first arrived at the scene, there were people banging on the windows, trying to get out" of the lead car, said Lt. Denise Fox, spokeswoman for the Montgomery County, Maryland, fire department.
The 13-car Amtrak train, pulled by two locomotives, was carrying 175 passengers. Only 13 passengers and crew on the train were injured, Amtrak officials said.
Apparently, the Amtrak train was bypassing a freight train near a switching station when it collided with the commuter train. Witnesses said the trains were on the same track going in opposite directions when they collided. More from a passenger (272K AIFF sound or 272K WAV sound)
Warren Monks, a spokesman for the Maryland Transit Administration, told the Associated Press the transit authority had been "having some switch problems."
Most of the fatalities were said to be on the lighter commuter train, which was being pushed from behind. One of the lead passenger cars of the MARC train was crushed.
The collision derailed two Amtrak engines as well as the commuter train's engine.
One locomotive's front was destroyed, its side ripped open in a gaping hole and its engineer's cab severely damaged. (196K QuickTime movie of wreckage stills)
The crash cut one of the passenger cars on the commuter train in half, lengthwise down the middle, CNN reporter Jed Duvall reported from the scene.
Duvall said the inside of the devastated commuter car was completely charred. "It looked like a toasted marshmallow," he said.
Local hospitals reported treating 24 patients, most of whom had minor injuries. One person was reportedly critical from smoke inhalation.
One of the Amtrak passengers was the wife of Rev. Jesse Jackson. She was said to be all right.
After dark, with the fire just extinguished, a helicopter clattered above the scene, scanning the wreckage with a searchlight.
The National Transportation Safety Board quickly dispatched a team to investigate the crash. Transportation Secretary Federico Pena canceled a trip and was en route to the scene Friday night.
Amtrak spokesman Clifford Black said it was to early to say whether the snow storm played a role in the collision.
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