A tractor in Nevada ran into a train, killing six people aboard.
June 26, 2011- Investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board combed the wreckage of the Amtrak train that was plowed into by a tractor trailer killing six. The officials said the tractor trailer skid over 100 yards before plowing into two cars of the train about 70 miles from Reno, Nevada.
The driver was the leader of a three truck convoy and officials said there was clear visibility and the drivers of the other trucks saw the warning lights. It could take over a year to examine the trucks mechanics, the driver’s safety records, the train’s warning signals and toxicology reports.
On board the train were 204 passengers and 14 crew in the 10 double-decker cars. Among the six that died were the tractor trailer driver and the conductor of the train. The conductor Laurette Lee was from South Lake Tahoe and her family has a long history in the railroad industry. Both her great grandfather and grandfather were in the industry as is her brother who is an Amtrak dispatcher and a nephew who is a conductor with Amtrak.
There are 28 passengers still unaccounted for even though some may have walked away with telling anyone and others may have gotten off the prior to the crash. At the crash site the speed limit for the train was 80mph and the train was traveling at 78mph at impact.
