Amtrak sued Kansas feed yard for gross negligence in connection to a train derailment accident last month, that injured over two dozen passengers. The federal lawsuit was filed Friday, in U.S. District Court in Wichita.
Cimarron Crossing Feeders LLC faces a lawsuit that alleges the company did not report their truck that rammed and damage the railroad road bed, Newsy reported. "Cimarron and its agents, officers or employees acted wantonly in that they knew, recklessly disregarded." The suit also alleges, the company acted in "complete indifference to the danger to trains operating on the tracks," Amtrak and BNSF stated on their legal complaint.
A company worker was loading the truck with grains and left the truck on 13th of March, "unattended, out of gear, and without any brakes applied," according to ABC News. The said truck rolled away from the Cimarron facility downhill to the south, striking the side of the railroad tracks. The truck then came to rest on the tracks.
Then briefly, midnight on 14th of March, the Amtrak train from eastbound hit the damage part of the rail track and with the train's impact, it shifted the alignment of the tracks by more than one foot. The Wichita Eagle also reported, the legal complaint added, BNSF, which owns the rail track claims the feeder company towed the truck without their permission and did not notify them about the damage.
A recent report from the National Transportation Safety Board estimates damage cost from the derailment Amtrak and BNSF is worth over $1.4 million. Both companies are seeking an amount of $75,000 for the damages.
Officials with Cimarron Crossing Feeders still have not responded to the lawsuit. The train derailment accident injured 28 passengers last month. On 14th of March, a train with 131 passengers and a crew of 14 derailed near Cimarron, sending eight cars off the track.
