Amazon van sliced in half during collision with Amtrak train, Wisconsin sheriff says

The front half of an Amazon van was ripped off as it collided with an Amtrak train passing through Wisconsin, according to local media reports.

Photos and video from the crash scene captured the van as it was smashed up against the train on Nov. 10, while the front driver’s section of the van was thrown from the tracks.

The driver survived and was taken to a hospital as a precaution, TMJ4 reported. Amtrak said the train’s 12 crew members and 129 passengers were all OK following the crash.

Jefferson County Sheriff Paul Milbrath said the Amazon driver was heading north, trying to cross the tracks, when the Amtrak train struck the vehicle at 1:24 p.m., according to the Daily Jefferson County Union.

“Everyone kind of jolted around but didn’t think much of it,” train passenger Dominique Bouavichith, who was traveling to Chicago, told WISN. “Shortly after, there was a smell. It smelt kind of like burning engine.”

On Twitter, Amtrak said the train was traveling from the Seattle/Portland area before it was stopped west of Milwaukee. The train was “back on the move” by 5:13 p.m., running about 3 hours and 40 minutes late.

An Amazon spokesperson told McClatchy News the company “will be cooperating throughout the course of the investigation.”

This story was originally published November 12, 2021 at 11:05 AM with the headline "Amazon van sliced in half during collision with Amtrak train, Wisconsin sheriff says."