Report: Amtrak, BNSF sue Kansas truck owner in derailment incident

Amtrak has filed a lawsuit alleging that Cimarron Crossing Feeders engaged in "gross negligence" in relation to a train derailment in Kansas last month.

Filed late last week, the lawsuit — which lists Amtrak and BNSF Railway Co. as plaintiffs — alleges Cimarron Crossing Feeders employees left a truck "unattended, out of gear and without any brakes applied" when it was loading grain March 13 into March 14, according to The Hutchinson News.

The truck rolled away from the Cimarron facility and downhill, crossed U.S. Highway 50 and struck the side of the railroad tracks, which are owned by BNSF. The truck came to rest on the tracks, the newspaper reported.

According to the National Transportation Safety Board, the impact of the truck hitting the track shifted the alignment by more than a foot. Cimarron Crossing Feeders called for a tow to remove the truck, but the company did not call BNSF or Amtrak to warn about the damaged track, according to the report.

The Amtrak train, traveling east on the track, derailed shortly after midnight near Cimarron, Kan. Twenty-eight passengers were hurt.