Amtrak Downeaster Struck Car today

[JoshP]

Story: Amtrak Downeaster hits car, derails near state border

This why #684 was delayed on tracker for 2 hours

 

[Pooh2]

That is my old neighborhood. Local news is reporting one death but have not confirmed if it was the driver of the truck.
Passengers and crew are fine.

 

[Brian Battuello]

Sorry to hear about the fatality. Surprised that a pickup truck caused a passenger car derailment, usually the train wins easily. From the news story description, it isn't clear if the train hit the truck, or if the truck somehow managed to slam into the side of the train. Either way, not good.

 

[Maverickstation]

Here is a local newspaper report on the incident.

https://www.newburyportnews.com/new...cle_6b4a5cb6-e72b-57fc-995a-12356a9502e8.html

 

[tgstubbs1]

I saw this about flashing blue LED lights on snowplows for improved visibility.

I wonder if Amtrak could benefit from better visibility.

https://www.desmoinesregister.com/s...e-and-white-lights-snowplow-trucks/793775001/
https://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2021/12/27/weather-snow-plows-light/2471640603317/

 

[John Santos]

Here is a local newspaper report on the incident.

https://www.newburyportnews.com/new...cle_6b4a5cb6-e72b-57fc-995a-12356a9502e8.html

The story says the crossing gate was broken, but it doesn't say if "broken" means it didn't come down as the train approached or if if means the truck either crashed through it or was pushed into it by the train. There is no way the reporter and the people he interviewed shouldn't have known this (or if they refused to comment pending investigation, the reporter should not have mentioned that fact.) Of course, this makes a huge difference in the accident response.
The witness said she heard the normal "ding ding ding", but that could be the train bell, not the crossing bell. So we don't know if the crossing was broken (did the gate close, did the warning lights flash, did the warning bell sound?), or if the driver drove through or around the gate.
If the gate was functioning, visibility as mentioned by @tgstubbs1 is irrelevant.