Wife Of Illinois Man Killed In Amtrak Derailment Files Lawsuit

CHICAGO — The wife of a man killed in an Amtrak train derailment near Joplin, Montana, Saturday has filed suit against Amtrak and BNSF Railway Company, according to a news release from the Saltz, Mongeluzzi & Bendesky law firm.

Zach Schneider, 28, and his wife Rebecca left Chicago over the weekend along with 139 other passengers and 14 Amtrak crew members bound for Portland, Oregon, but their train derailed around 4 p.m. Saturday in northern Montana. Eight of the train's cars tipped over, killing three, including Schneider.

Rebecca Schneider survived the crash with "severe and life-altering injuries," according to the lawsuit, which calls the crash "entirely preventable."

At the time of the derailment, Schneider's attorneys said she was in the sleeper car at the rear of the train, while her husband was in the viewing car, which was thrown violently from the tracks during the crash.

"Zach and Rebecca, were college sweethearts excited to spend their lives together," attorney Jeffrey P. Goodman said in a statement. "As rail passengers, they put their lives in Amtrak’s hands and expected that Amtrak would make sure they arrived at their destination safely. Sadly, what was supposed to be a joyous vacation turned tragic because of the failures of Amtrak and BNSF to fulfill their safety responsibilities."

The lawsuit calls the derailment "but another in a long list of devastating and fatal train derailments caused by the negligence and carelessness of ... Amtrak and BNSF."

The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the crash and is expected to issue a preliminary report within the next month.

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Rebecca and Zach Schneider lived in Fairview Heights, Illinois, where Zach was a software developer.

In his spare time, Zach Schneider coached a local debate team and volunteered at a grade school in St. Louis, Missouri, teaching children with limited access to computers how to code, according to his family's lawyers. The couple had been married nearly 5 years and spent their free time rescuing dogs and fostering kittens.

Robert J. Mongeluzzi, another of Scheider's attorneys, said, "Rebecca has asked us to bring this claim to find out what happened, and to ensure no other family suffers the loss of someone as precious and loved as Zach."

The law firm has also represented victims in fatal Amtrak derailments in Pennsylvania, South Carolina and New Jersey. According to a news release, the firm seeks to "ensure that the victims' rights are protected through the investigative process and that the defendants (Amtrak and BNSF) are held responsible for Saturday's tragedy."

The firm says it has consistently advocated for railway safety technology such as automatic braking and switching systems that could have prevented the derailment.

Read the complaint here.