Amtrak train from Chicago hits 18-wheeler

TCHULA, Miss. — Amtrak’s City of New Orleans train hit an 18-wheeler in Mississippi on Tuesday morning, tearing through a trailer filled with corn and sending two people to area hospitals, authorities said. There appeared to be no serious injuries.

Amtrak spokesman Marc Magliari said the train was bound from Chicago to New Orleans with 152 passengers and 11 crew members when the accident occurred about five miles south of Tchula in Holmes County.

Magliari said there were no reports of serious injuries, but a passenger and a crew member were taken to local hospitals. He said it wasn’t immediately clear if they were being admitted, or treated and released.

Holmes County Sheriff Willie March said the driver of the tractor-trailer was not injured. He said some people on the train complained of bruises and being “a little banged up,” but there didn’t appear to be any serious injuries.

March said there are no crossing guards at the spot, and the driver of the 18-wheeler didn’t see the train coming until it was too late. The impact of the collision “cut the trailer in two,” March said, leaving piles of corn along the track.

Amtrak chartered buses for the passengers because the train’s locomotive was damaged and must be repaired or moved before the train continues to its destination, Magliari said.

He said northbound Amtrak rail traffic shouldn’t be affected.