Appleton Scouts On Train In Deadly Missouri Crash Sprang Into Action

CHARLTON COUNTY, MO — A group of Wisconsin Boy Scouts were among the first to assist victims Monday in the wake of a crash involving an Amtrak train and a dump truck in rural Missouri, which killed four people and injured at least 150 more, according to reports.

The incident occurred shortly before 1 p.m. at a railroad crossing on Porche Prairie Avenue in Charlton County near Mendon, which is about 100 miles northeast of Kansas City, according to the Missouri State Highway Patrol.

The truck driver died, as did three passengers, the state patrol said in an update Tuesday. Roughly 150 people were taken to 10 area hospitals for injuries ranging from minor to serious, according to the state patrol.

Two Boy Scout troops from Appleton were on the train when it derailed, according to WBAY. The Scouts broke windows, helped people exit the train, and stayed with the truck driver in his final moments, WBAY reported.

“I’m proud of them," Dan Skrypczak, scoutmaster for Troop 73, told WBAY. "One scout wrapped his hand, took his shirt off, wrapped his hand to break some windows to get people out. Another scout went and comforted the driver of the truck that was hit and tried to stabilize him."

There were 16 minors and eight adults with troops 73 and 12 on the train, according to WBAY, which reported two of the adults were taken to hospitals for a cracked vertebra, and broken ribs and a bruised lung, respectively.

The train was traveling east from Los Angeles to Chicago on a BNSF Railroad track with nearly 300 people on board, according to Amtrak. Eight cars and two locomotives derailed after the train hit the truck, Amtrak reported.

The National Transportation Safety Board has launched an investigation into the incident, the agency said in a tweet.

The track speed in the area of the crash is nearly 80 mph, retired accident investigator Russell Quimby told the New York Times, which would have made it difficult for the train to stop.

Farmers who live near the crossing told the Kansas City Star they have long considered the area unsafe, citing steepness, vision-obstructing brush, and lack of arms or signals at the crossing.

“I was certain that this was going to happen,” farmer Mike Spencer told the Star. “It was just a matter of time.”

The crossing is on a list to receive improvements from the Missouri Department of Transportation, the Star reported.

In the wake of the crash, trains are being forced to terminate early and originate in different cities than scheduled, according to Amtrak. At least one train was canceled.