The recent Amtrak accident involving members of Congress on a train that collided with a garbage truck in Virginia has refocused attention on rail safety in Florida.
Authorities say an Amtrak passenger train in Virginia struck a tractor-trailer that was on the railroad tracks. The train was carrying members of the House and Senate from Washington, D.C. to a Republican party conference. The accident killed a passenger in the truck. The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the crash.
The Amtrak accident is the latest in a string of rail disasters happening as the Trump administration is slashing funding for railroad safety programs. In 2015, eight passengers were killed and nearly 200 injured in an Amtrak accident outside of Philadelphia. The train was traveling at over 100 miles per hour. That is more than twice the speed limit for that section of the railroad. A December 2017 Amtrak accident killed three people when a train jumped the tracks near Tacoma, Washington. Investigators are still working to determine the cause of that derailment.
Amtrak Accident in Florida
Florida train accidents have been in the news lately as well. The state has been testing out a high-speed rail system called Brightline for about a year, and the speeding train has struck and killed four people so far. In 2016, a Tri-Rail commuter train in Pompano Beach, Florida struck debris and derailed, injuring one person. A SunRail train accident claimed the life of a driver trying to move his tractor-trailer off the tracks near Orlando. Among the most recent train accidents involving trucks are a collision in Palatka that killed the driver of the truck; a CSX freight train and truck collision in Lakeland, a train accident in Cocoa, and an Amtrak accident involving a semi-trailer in Polk County.
If you are involved in a train accident, or you are injured while using any type of public transportation in Florida, contact the Orlando car accident attorneys at Matinez Manglardi. Call 407-846-2240 for a free consultation. Offices throughout Central Florida.
