Washington train speeding 50 mph over limit before deadly derailment

amtrak-derailment

Federal officials confirmed an Amtrak train was traveling 50 miles per hour over the speed limit when it careened off an overpass south of Seattle Monday, spilling cars onto Interstate 5 below and killing at least three people.

A National Transportation Safety Board member says that information from the event data recorder in the rear locomotive showed Train 501 was traveling at 80 miles per hour in a 30 miles per hour zone when it derailed at 7:34 AM near the town of DuPont.

Investigators say it’s not yet known what caused the Seattle to Portland train to derail on its inaugural trip and that it’s too early to tell why it was going so fast.  There were 80 passengers and five on-duty crew members on board when it derailed and pulled 13 cars off the tracks.

Authorities said there were three confirmed deaths, and more than 70 people were taken for medical care, including 10 with serious injuries.  (AP)

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