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Deadly train collision in northern Missouri last summer prompts funding call from Missouri’s governor

Deadly train collision in northern Missouri last summer prompts funding call from Missouri’s governor

An Amtrak train with eight railcars and two locomotives derailed in northern Missouri’s Mendon on June 27, 2022 (aerial file photo courtesy of the NTSB website)

Missouri’s governor says the state must be proactive to prevent another tragedy like June’s deadly train collision in northern Missouri’s Mendon.

The June 2022 collision between an Amtrak passenger train and a dump truck killed three Amtrak passengers and dump truck driver Billy Barton II. Another 150 others suffered injuries.

“That’s why we’re including $35-million to begin updating railway crossings to modern-day safety standards all across the state of Missouri,” Governor Parson says.

The governor spoke during this week’s State of the State address. The governor praises residents in Mendon and Chariton County for helping so many people after the crash. Parson says “small town America rose to the occasion.”

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) says the June collision also caused $4-million in damage.