At least four people were killed and dozens more were injured Tuesday afternoon when a CSX train slammed into a charter bus full of tourists that had gotten stuck on a railroad crossing with a low ground clearance.
A CSX Corp. train collided with a charter bus in Biloxi, Miss., Tuesday afternoon, leaving at least four people dead and dozens more injured.
The bus was carrying a total of 48 people, mostly senior citizen tourists from Texas, three of which were killed in the collision and another of which died after being transported from the scene by emergency personnel, according to a statement from Biloxi Mayor Andrew “FoFo” Gilich.
The CSX train was traveling east when it collided with the bus at around 2:15 p.m. local time, pushing it nearly 300 feet down the tracks. The bus had been traveling north, en route from Austin, Texas, to a local casino.
Shortly before the collision, the bus stopped on the tracks and did not move despite the crossing lights and safety gates being activated and the train sounding its horn, witnesses and passengers told local media outlets. Witnesses said the bus appeared to be stuck at the crossing, which is on a steep embankment with a low ground clearance, but no official determination has been made yet as to the cause of the incident.
City officials said Biloxi first responders extracted all of the remaining people on the bus within one hour and four minutes of arriving on the scene and that all had been evacuated from the area within 90 minutes of the collision.
Witness Austin Dominey reportedly told local television station WLOX the bus appeared to unable to move because it became lodged on the steep hill at the crossing.
“The train was honking and honking, but that bus had just looked like it had bottomed out over that hill,” said Dominey. “When it bottomed out, it tried backing up just a little bit, and then you could see the train just…and it was gone.”
Members of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) were on the scene yesterday and will initiate an investigation into the precise cause of the incident.
“Our specially trained accident reconstruction team will work with federal authorities, the National Transportation Safety Board, the Federal Rail Administration and others, along with CSX investigators, to determine exactly what happened this afternoon,” Biloxi Police Chief John Miller said.
“This is a sad day,” said Gilich. “Our thoughts and prayers are with those in this tragedy, and, of course, with their families.
“The thing that we’re doing right now is take immediate steps to make this damaged intersection safer,” he added. “Our Public Works crews have been ordered to sweep the street of glass and debris. Our Police Department is working to determine a timeline on when the crossing bar and other safety equipment can be repaired. As far as long-term improvements to this crossing and others in the city, I will continue to press for us to close crossings so that we can work with CSX to improve the safety of other crossings.
“Additionally, and just as importantly, we are going to use the recommendations that the NTSB and CSX bring forward to ensure that the chance of something like this occurring again is minimized. We’re going to use empirical data to direct our measures.”
A spokesperson for CSX told American Shipper the company will continue working with local and federal authorities on site and will support the Biloxi Police Department and the National Transportation Safety Board in their investigations.
“CSX also has a team of people coordinating with the bus company to provide assistance to the passengers and families of those impacted by this tragic accident,” the spokesperson said. “We extend our deepest sympathies to those affected.”
CSX train collides with charter bus in Biloxi, Miss.
