Several cars of the New York-bound Amtrak Crescent carrying 218 passengers and crew derailed in Spartanburg, South Carolina, which left four people with minor injuries, authorities said, as reported by The Associated Press. Spartanburg County Deputy Fire Marshal Tony Barnett said the derailment of the Amtrak train from New Orleans occurred at 12:10 a.m early on Monday morning.
"The cause was not immediately available; and seven of nine cars on the train were off the tracks but remained upright as did the two locomotives," The AP also reported.
"The car felt like it was about to flip over. ... I was holding on to my brother for dear life. Bags went everywhere. It was crazy. Really scary," passenger Carrie Lambert said to news reporters.
"Seven of the nine cars on Train 20 from New Orleans went off the track but stayed upright. It said Amtrak had no immediate word on the cause as investigators from several agencies and work crews converged at the site," in an Amtrak statement emailed to The AP.
Captain Derrick Miller with the Westview-Fairforest Fire Department told WSPA-TV the seven cars came off the tracks onto gravel, The Clarion Ledger also reported.
Amtrak said the matter "was being investigated by [the company] and Norfolk Southern, which owns, controls and maintains that portion of the Crescent's route," The AP added.
