NTSB: Truck hit by train carrying GOP lawmakers crossed track despite lowered gates

The truck hit last month by an Amtrak train carrying Republican lawmakers drove onto the crossing after the gates had been lowered, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said Wednesday.

In a preliminary report about the collision, the safety agency said that the train’s track footage shows the truck in the grade crossing with the lowered gates. According to witnesses, the truck accessed the crossing after the gates had been put down, the NTSB said.

The agency’s investigation of the collision involving an Amtrak train carrying GOP lawmakers to their annual retreat in January is ongoing. It left one truck passenger dead and several train passengers with minor injuries.

{mosads}“Investigators are also coordinating additional passenger and witness interviews and continue to gather information related to motor carrier operations, rail operations, and driver and train crew experience,” the report said.

“All aspects of the crash remain under investigation while the NTSB determines the probable cause, with the intent of issuing safety recommendations to prevent similar crashes,” it continued.

A truck passenger was killed in the collision, which occurred near Crozet, Va., while the vehicle’s driver, a third passenger and several people aboard the train were injured. Lawmakers at the time described the scene of the accident on social media, while members of Congress with medical training helped the injured.

The safety board in its report said the crossing is outfitted with advance markings in addition to bells, railroad crossbuck signs, gates and warning lights.

Amtrak CEO Richard Anderson said during testimony in front of a House Transportation Committee subcommittee last week that grade crossings are the company’s biggest safety concern.

The deadly crash, in addition to other recent fatal accidents involving Amtrak trains, has placed train safety in the spotlight. Several days after the Virginia crash, two Amtrak employees were killed when an Amtrak train collided with a freight train in South Carolina.

-Updated 2:35 p.m.