Amtrak train derails outside Seattle, causing 'multiple injuries and fatalities'

(Image credit: Mario Tama/Getty Images)

published 18 December 2017

An Amtrak train derailed Monday morning in Washington state, causing "multiple injuries and fatalities," local officials said. Ed Troyer, a spokesman for the Pierce County Sheriff's Department, said the incident is under investigation.

Troyer said that no motorists were killed in the derailment, and deaths "are all contained to the train. It's pretty horrific." The incident caused a train car to dangle over the major Interstate 5 thoroughfare. Thirteen of the train's 14 cars jumped the track, and on the freeway five cars and two semi-trucks were also involved in accidents because of the crash.

The train was carrying 78 passengers and five crew members when it derailed roughly 40 miles south of Seattle, near Tacoma, just before 8 a.m. local time. It was the inaugural run of a new, high-speed route connecting Seattle and Portland. Amtrak said it was "aware of an incident involving Amtrak train 501." Kimberly Alters