West Texas train crash unfolds in 20 rapid seconds
By Juan Carlos Llorca
Topics: From the Wires, News
Railroad investigators work the scene of an accident where four veterans were killed and 16 other people were injured when a train slammed into a parade float carrying the returning heroes to a banquet last Thursday in Midland, Texas on Saturday, Nov. 17, 2012. Federal investigators were trying to determine whether the two-float parade had been given enough warning to clear the tracks. (AP Photo/Juan Carlos Llorca)(Credit: AP)MIDLAND, Texas (AP) — A harrowing train crash in West Texas that killed four war veterans unfolded in a rapid-fire 20 seconds — from the time the crossing bells and lights activated to the collision.
The National Transportation Safety Board released a detailed timeline Saturday, pieced together from video images on the train, a sheriff’s car and the train’s equivalent of a black box.
The parade was organized by a group called Show of Support. Group member Michael McKinney says the truck was donated.
According to the timeline, the truck entered the tracks after the warning lights had gone off.
The veterans and their spouses had only seconds to jump off. At the same time, the train conductor pulled the emergency brake in an attempt to come to a screeching halt.
Related Stories
More Related Stories
-
Iran hackers aiming at U.S. energy firms
-
Lawyers release data in attempt to discredit Trayvon Martin
-
Anonymous rallies behind Kaitlyn Hunt
-
Bridge collapse: Part of "aging infrastructure"
-
Mistrial in penalty phase of Arias case
-
Amanda Bynes arrested after hurling bong from window
-
Interstate 5 bridge collapses north of Seattle
-
Mississippi could begin prosecuting women for miscarriages
-
Teenage girl claims she was beaten up for looking like Taylor Swift
-
UK Military: London attack victim was a "model soldier"
-
Billionaire hedge funder: Babies, breast-feeding "kill" focus, keep women from succeeding
-
"Bookless library" set to open in Texas
-
2 more arrested in London attacks
-
Glenn Beck: CNN interview with atheist tornado survivor was a setup!
-
Incoming BBC news director on journalism gender gap: "We can do better"
-
Illegal construction, shoddy materials at fault in Bangladesh factory disaster
-
Ahead of Obama's speech, U.S. acknowledges four American drone killings
-
Must-see morning clip: Bill O'Reilly visits "The Daily Show"
-
Lawsuit alleges anti-gay hiring practices at ExxonMobil
-
Boy Scouts poised to vote, still greatly divided on gay youth
-
House supporters of KXL received $56m from fossil fuel industry
Featured Slide Shows
The week in 10 pics
close X- Share on Twitter
- Share on Facebook
- Thumbnails
- Fullscreen
- 1 of 11
- Previous
- Next
-
Lisa Montgomery embraces her nephew Thursday after a tornado tore apart her home in Cleburne, Texas. The twister killed six people and destroyed entire swaths of the North Texas town.
Credit: AP/LM Otero -
Jack McMahon, the defense attorney for abortion doctor Kermit Gosnell, speaks outside the Criminal Justice Center in Philadelphia Tuesday. His client was convicted of killing three babies in his clinic, and will serve multiple life sentences.
Credit: AP/Matt Rourke -
A photo taken Monday captures Vice President Joe Biden's response to a Milwaukee second-grader's innovative proposal to end America's epidemic of gun violence. This guy!
Credit: AP/Jenny Aicher -
Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., flanked by a grouper-eyed Michele Bachmann, addresses the IRS' admission that it targeted Tea Party groups in advance of the 2012 election. In an op-ed for CNN Thursday, the Kentucky senator slammed the president for his faux outrage.
Credit: AP/Molly Riley -
Ousted IRS chief Steven Miller is sworn in on Capitol Hill Friday. Miller testified before the House Ways and Means Committee on the extra scrutiny the agency gave conservative groups applying for tax-exempt status.
Credit: AP/J. Scott Applewhite -
Attorney General Eric Holder pauses as he testifies on Capitol Hill before the House Judiciary Committee Wednesday. Holder is under fire, among other things, for the Justice Department's gathering of phone records at the Associated Press.
Credit: AP/Carolyn Kaster -
O.J. Simpson sits during an evidentiary hearing at Clark County District Court in Las Vegas, Nev., Thursday. Simpson, who is currently serving a nine-to-33-year sentence in state prison for armed robbery and kidnapping, is using a writ of habeas corpus to seek a new trial.
Credit: AP/Las Vegas Review-Journal/Jeff Scheid -
Major Tom to ground control: On Sunday astronaut Chris Hadfield recorded the first music video from space, a cover of David Bowie's "Space Oddity."
Credit: AP/NASA/Chris Hadfield -
When it rains it pours. President Barack Obama speaks during a news conference Thursday with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, inexplicably inspiring an #umbrellagate Twitter meme.
Credit: AP/Jacquelyn Martin -
A smoke plume rises high above a road block at the intersection of County A and Ross Road east of Solon Springs, Wis., Tuesday. No injuries were reported, but the the wildfire caused evacuations across northwestern Wisconsin.
Credit: AP/The Duluth News-Tribune/Clint Austin -
Recent Slide Shows
- Share on Twitter
- Share on Facebook
- Thumbnails
- Fullscreen
- 1 of 11
- Previous
- Next
Related Videos
Most Read
-
Tornado survivor to Wolf Blitzer: Sorry, I'm an atheist. I don't have to thank the Lord
Mary Elizabeth Williams
-
9-year-old slams Rahm over Chicago schools
Natasha Lennard
-
Oklahoma senator: Tornado aid "totally different" from Sandy aid
Jillian Rayfield
-
Experts: Fox News spying scandal a game-changer
Natasha Lennard
-
Judge tells lesbian couple to separate -- or lose kids
Irin Carmon
-
Greek yogurt, toxic waste hazard?
Kristen Gwynne, AlterNet
-
Inhofe and Coburn: Red state hypocrites
Joan Walsh
-
Facebook's hate speech problem
Mary Elizabeth Williams
-
Brad Pitt keeps breaking his silence on how boring marriage to Jennifer Aniston was
Daniel D'Addario
-
Graphic video reportedly shows possible London machete attack suspect
Jillian Rayfield
Popular on Reddit
links from salon.com

27 points28 points29 points | 23 comments


Comments
0 Comments