Friends Driving Parallel To Amtrak That Derailed Stayed To Help Injured
DUPONT, Wash. (AP) — An Amtrak train making the first-ever run along a faster new route hurtled off an overpass Monday south of Seattle and spilled some of its cars onto the highway below, killing at least six people, authorities said Monday.
The death toll is expected to rise.
Daniel Konzelman, 24, was driving parallel to the train on his way to work as an accountant in Olympia. He was about 30 seconds ahead of the train on the freeway when he saw it derail.
Konzelman, who was driving with a friend, said he pulled off the freeway and then ran down along the tracks and over the bridge to get to the scene. They saw three cars and a semi-truck on the freeway that had been damaged by the derailment. There were train cars with their roofs ripped off, or that were tipped upside down, on both sides of the track or turned sideways on the bridge.
They climbed into train cars and found people hurt — some pinned underneath the train, others who appeared to be dead, he said. If they were mobile and seemed stable, he helped them climb out. If they appeared seriously hurt, he tried to comfort them by talking to them.
"I just wanted to help people because I would want people to help me," he said. "I'm an Eagle Scout. I have a lot of first-aid training and emergency response training."
They stayed for nearly two hours before hitting the road again.
"I prepared for the worst and hoped for the best. I saw a little bit of both," he said.
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