Safety upgrades urged for site of Amtrak wreck that killed 4

By CHARLIE RIEDEL and SUMMER BALLENTINE
Associated Press

MENDON, Mo. (AP) — A Missouri Department of Transportation plan released this year cited a need to improve safety at the rail crossing where an Amtrak train and a dump truck collided, resulting in the deaths of three passengers and the truck driver. The Missouri State Highway Patrol said Tuesday a fourth person died from injuries from Monday’s crash. The patrol said about 150 people had been taken to 10 area hospitals with injuries ranging from minor to serious. Three passengers on the train and the driver of a dump truck hit by the train died in the Monday collision. The Southwest Chief was traveling from Los Angeles to Chicago. National Transportation Safety Board investigators were at the scene Tuesday.