RENO, Nev. — Authorities say a truck driver tried to stop his big rig before it slammed into the side of an Amtrak passenger car in the Nevada desert, killing himself and at least one person on the train and injuring about 20 others in the fiery crash.
Nevada Highway Patrol Trooper Dan Lopez said Saturday that investigators found skid marks at the railroad crossing on U.S. 95 about 70 miles east of Reno, indicating the driver tried to stop his semitrailer before Friday’s collision.
Lopez says there are two confirmed dead in the crash, but it is possible more bodies could be found in two Amtrak cars that were badly damaged by fire after the crash.
Amtrak’s California Zephyr was en route from Chicago to Emeryville, Calif., with some 200 passengers when the accident occurred.