FRA investigating Amtrak derailment in North Carolina

A New York City-bound Amtrak train derailed Monday after colliding with a tractor-trailer on tracks at a grade crossing in North Carolina. Fifty-nine people were injured, according to local news media.

Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) investigators were on the scene to determine the probable cause of how and why the tractor-trailer was on the tracks. The incident was the nation's third major passenger-rail derailment caused by a motor vehicle on the tracks at a grade crossing in the past month.

"Recent accidents like this one are stark reminders of our shared challenge to both educate the public about grade crossing safety, and to enforce appropriate behavior around railroad operations," FRA officials said in a prepared statement.

The northbound Carolinian Amtrak train 80 collided with the truck at the intersection of U.S. Highway 301 and North Carolina Highway 903 in Halifax County at about 12:15 p.m., according to the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT). The crossing involved is equipped with gates and railroad-preempted signals, NCDOT officials said.