Officials identify 4 people who died in Missouri Amtrak derailment

MENDON, Mo. (AP) — Authorities on Wednesday identified the four people killed when an Amtrak passenger train collided with a dump truck earlier this week in rural Missouri, saying two were from Kansas and two were from Missouri.

The truck driver, 54-year-old Billy Barton II, of Brookfield, Missouri, died in Monday’s collision, the Chariton County coroner said.

Two train passengers — Rochelle Cook, 58, and Kim Holsapple, 56, both of DeSoto, Kansas, died at the scene. A third passenger 82-year-old Binh Pham, of Kansas City, Missouri, died Tuesday at a hospital.

The Missouri Highway Patrol said up to 150 people also were injured in the collision at a railroad crossing, which had no lights or other signals.

Amtrak’s Southwest Chief was traveling from Los Angeles to Chicago when it hit the back of the truck near Mendon in western Missouri, investigators said. Two locomotives and eight cars derailed. Amtrak officials said about 275 passengers and 12 crew members were aboard.

The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the crash.