Update Investigation Underway in Fatal Train Crash in Crozet

Federal investigators are working to determine what caused an Amtrak train carrying Republican lawmakers to crash into a trash truck in western Albemarle County.

First responders were dispatched to the train crossing on Lanetown Road around 11:18 a.m. Wednesday, January 31. The train’s engine slammed into a Time Disposal garbage truck, killing one person.

The chartered train was carrying GOP legislators, staff, and security from Washington D.C., to an annual retreat at the Greenbrier resort in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia.

Albemarle County police say two other people on the garbage truck were taken to University of Virginia Medical Center with serious injuries.

Congressional Institute spokesperson Jessica Twohey said one congressional member was sent to the hospital, and two other people from the train were examined. Amtrak had reported that two passengers and two train crew members were taken to the hospital with minor injuries.

The UVA Health System announced around 4:30 p.m. that a total of six patients were transported to the UVA Medical Center from the train accident. One patient is in critical condition, four patients are being evaluated, and one patient has been discharged.

A nurse on the scene told NBC29 that one person had died, however officials with Albemarle County have not mentioned a fatality at this time.

Arizona Senator Jeff Flake said they were moving at a pretty good speed when they felt the impact. He described it as everyone being thrown around the train car, then he and other members jumped into action to help the injured.

"Brad Wenstrup [of Ohio] and Dr. [Bill Cassidy of Louisiana] also were off. They were working on the man, the deceased. CPR was performed for a long time, but it didn't work. And then the other person was severely injured. It looked as if they were on the back of the truck and the driver survived and was able to walk to the ambulance," Flake said.

The senator said he helped the seriously injured person for about 20 minutes before helping them to an ambulance.

Kerri Heilman's home backs up to the train tracks, and she says she was home trying to get her dogs back inside when the collision happened.

“I heard the train beeping and coming, but typically, you know it’s just a couple of horns, and this was just constant. Like the horns were just blaring blaring blaring. And so I got my dogs in, and then I heard an enormous crash, and when I looked out the window I saw the train coming to a stop, and it had definitely hit something,” she said.

A different neighbor told NBC29 that a tarp-covered body was in her yard hours after the crash.

Once the train left the accident scene in Crozet, it came back to the Amtrak station in Charlottesville so the uninjured passengers could board buses to go on to West Virginia.

Dozens of people along with Charlottesville and Virginia State Police watched from West Main Street as passengers got off that train. Bomb-sniffing dogs could be seen checking the buses before people got on.

Senate Sergeant at Arms Frank Larkin calls the response to the accident superb: “It certainly tests our metal and our preparedness, but again this is what the training is all about. This is what the interagency cooperation is all about,” he said.

Two members of Congress who represent parts of central Virginia and the Shenandoah Valley - 5th District Congressman Tom Garrett and 6th District Congressman Bob Goodlatte - were not on the train. Garrett was at his office in Washington, D.C. when the collision happened, while Goodlatte opted to drive separately to the GOP retreat. Both representatives issued statements about the crash, offering up prayers for those involved.

Investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board and the Transportation Security Administration will be examining the train's engine and the scene of the crash.

Federal records show a previous accident occurred at the Lanetown Road crossing in 1999. In that case, a CSX freight train hit a truck that was stuck between the tracks. No one was injured in that incident.

The crossing does have a signal with flashing lights and arms to block the crossing. Those were down across the road, at least after the crash.

Amtrak train involved in a deadly crash in Crozet

At 11:17 a.m. this morning, the Charlottesville-UVA-Albemarle County Emergency Communication Center received a call indicating that a train ran into a truck at Lane Town Road & Marymart Farm Rd. in Crozet, Virginia, a town in Albemarle County.

Albemarle County Police and Fire and Rescue responded to the scene and are there now. Three serious injuries have been reported, all related to passengers on the truck. At this time, there are no reports of injuries from any train passengers.

This incident remains under investigation and there are no further details at this time.

Scene of an Amtrak train that hit a vehicle in the Crozet area

Investigators on the scene of a fatal crash involving an Amtrak train in Crozet (Photo courtesy Albemarle County Police Department)

Heavy security at the Amtrak Station as train involved in deadly Crozet crash releases lawmakers

Jeff Flake

Congressman Tom Garrett (R-VA) issued the following statement upon learning of today’s train collision in Crozet, Virginia from the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C.:

"My colleagues and my friends were on the train, and it is very likely that or more Fifth District residents were injured during today’s collision. So I would ask that all take a moment today to think about everyone on the train, and keep them in your hearts, thoughts and prayers”

“Many of my colleagues were en route to the GOP Retreat when the train carrying them was involved in a collision in Albemarle County."

"While we monitor the situation from our office in Washington, our thoughts and prayers are with the victims and our first responders and law enforcement professionals who, as always, are doing their jobs and working to save lives."

NOTE: Congressman Garrett was not on the train at the time of the collision. He learned of the incident from his offices in Washington, D.C.