Transcripts For FOXNEWSW Outnumbered 20171218

People on that train described in some instances a feeling of going downhill, everybody has cell phones and so we can get reports from inside that train as long as people we know there are casualties and all of this. The train derailed off of part of that line and landed on interstate five southbound and came to rest. A part of that train as you can see is still dangling. Casualties can mean injury or death or both, we dont know yet but we know the number of people on that train now confirmed at 70 at this point. Lets go to Jonathan Hunt, he has been reporting whats happening at the scene and can bring us up to speed. You are collecting the information, what have you learned . This was amtrak 501, left seattle earlier this morning and just about an hour ago was leaving this new station in tacoma and pulled out of that station, heading close to a small town called dupont on its way south. As we have been looking at the map of this route, it appears to have taken a curve around eagle pride golf course there and was going across what you can clearly see over the very busy i five. That is where the derailment happened. There are some reports that the train was traveling at around 1. If that is the case it would be close to its top speed. There were some 70 people on board and as you look at the picture on the left you can see one of the cars very clearly dangling off of that overpass. What i can tell you from other pictures we have seen is that underneath that dangling car, there is another one that is completely trapped, flats, very badly damaged lying across i five. The local sheriff has tweeted, this is a quote. There are injuries and casualties. The sheriff did not himself define the difference between injuries and casualties. We will find out a lot more about that in the coming minutes and hours. What is significant indeed is this is a route that was a ribboncutting ceremony on friday and the Washington Department of transport put out a press release on friday touting these upgrades to what it said was a significant part of the track and a new station in tacoma. They said they spent 800 million on passenger train improvements and this was the first passenger train to actually travel along the new path, upgraded part of this track and through these upgraded signals. Investigators are on their way now, they will be looking very closely at all of those parts of the track. Theyve been looking at the speed of the train and they will want to interview the engineer, they will want to know what condition he wasnt, if there were any medical emergencies. All the usual things they look at. Harris i know you can hear me, i want to draw everybodys attention to the screen because these are now live pictures coming from dupont washington, not just the still images we were bringing you before. Sometimes this can communicate so much about what jonathan is saying. You see the First Responders on the ground, a very close up picture, live video of the car dangling off that overpass. You can clearly see from what you were saying, we understand that first car will be flattened at the bottom of the screen and understand how dire that situation is because all of those emergency vehicles have pulled up to that one point and are now covering the Vantage Point we had before. We hope they are able to pull people out. You read the tweets from officials, injuries and casualties. We know casualties can be both that they have not made definitive determinations of whether we are looking solely at injuries or death or both. We are watching for that detail. I want to add into what you are saying about this expensive firstday experience with this line, the cascade line along amtrak. The main train up the Pacific Northwest coast from eugene, oregon, through portland, seattle, vancouver canada. Many stops along the way. They were picking people up along, 70 people we are told were on that train. Joining us now, former National Transportation safety board member, we are glad you are with us. We are sorry its on this kind of an occasion but can you bring us up to speed on any further details . I dont have any further details, i can talk about the launching. This was a major event and the best and brightest are on their way to washington. Harris is there anything else you can tell us about some of the initial pictures we are seeing . We have to remind everybody that we just learned about this, its only been minutes now. Since this all began and we are looking at the scene there. Cars backed up for likely miles now as this is still the initial phase of what we are looking at in washington, we do not know. We know there were 70 people on board when the train derailed by the number of fatalities we still do not know when we are not just talking about people on that train car but obviously the cars below as well. It has the potential to be a real disaster. Not knowing how many people were in that one car that is essentially flattened, it doesnt look very good. The car that is dangling, those passengers were probably ufos and inside the train flying around. Likely to be some injuries there. Its not good. Harris what kind of presence does the ntsb have on the ground . We had some people in the northwest, the local folks are on their way. A team from washington, d. C. , washington, d. C. , is assembling as we speak, they will have a team consisting of a number of people but certainly given what we see on the screen right now the signal and track people will be there because was it a track issue, or was it a signal issue that caused it to go through and strike something . It does appear that it stopped rather quickly for the train to of jumped over the restraints and land on the highway. Its a little early to speculate on all of this. Harris we know it was brandnew and you have to imagine there was added extra attention on this line as things get a ribboncutting days before and you get a launch date like today. I would imagine there were already some extra eyes not from the ntsb but certainly from officials and whatnot. Kennedy, i know you are from not far away from here. Kennedy from portland and lived in seattle for many years, normally on i five, you cant overstate the importance of this i five corridor. People from tacoma commuting into seattle, it is now completely gridlocked, shut down in all directions north and south. We are entering into a huges travel week seattle is also a nontraditional progressive city and they put a lot of local money into infrastructure and encouraging people to take Public Transportation like these trains and theyve also invested a lot in streetcars in seattle and theyve really sort of rehabbed this part of the track and are trying to renovate certain railways in order to accommodate this, encouraging people to use Public Transportation and trained specifically to get people off of i five. Even though seattle is weekly populated compared to many metropolitan areas. They still have a great deal of traffic because it simply wasnt constructed for the kind of heavy traffic they have, thats why they are trying to get people onto trains. Harris on interstate five, they are telling people that if they do not have reasons to travel it is the holiday week, that decision gets more complicated, what is essential and what is not . They are asking people for the outlying roads around interstate five, the cutaways we all know from living locally, stay off the roads at this point. Accidents can handle happen ane away from the scene as well. John, before we let you go, i want to get your expertise on what this is playing like right now. You have that one dangling car, there wouldve been people flying inside of that. You know a lot about the safety restraints, what are we looking at in terms of whats going on with the human toll of all of this . Its staggering to even think about it. Folks were probably taken totally unaware, the goods that are on top of the seats, these trains dont have bins so you may have objects flying around. It pains me to even think of the condition of the people. Harris you said that team from d. C. Would already be assembling at this point. Its that will be the investigative arm of all of this. We appreciate you coming with us live to navigate some of these things. As you said from the beginning, you dont have any more on the grounds type of information than we do but there is a live rescue going on right in the middle of the street. We will learn more about this together but we appreciate your expertise. Thank you. Thank you very much. Sandra we continue to look at these live images out of Washington State. We dont know a lot yet about injuries or possible fatalities from this train that still dangling, the train car is still dangling over the highway. Amtrak has put out a statement that really only addresses the scheduling. We have not yet heard specifically from the company themselves. What they know about what the cause of the Train Derailment there. A railroad engineer expert is on the phone with us right now. Goss, youve been looking at these pictures with us, thank you for jumping on the phone with us. What can you tell us about what you are seeing and what can you make of it . I have to start with all i talk about, derailment 101. There are three things are going to put a train on the ground. Something wrong with the track, the equipment, or the way its operated. There was a train up in north dakota that derailed, a train that was carrying crude oil. It was a broken axle. The philadelphia crash may of 2015 was train handling, the guy was going around a curve too fast. A wide gauge on the track, broken rail, a train went over it. All those, amtrak, railroads are going to do is start where the train ended up and walk backwards to see where it left the track. Its going to happen a half mile before and it finally crashed over the bridge. Sandra when we look at these pictures, we are still trying to wrap our minds around how many cars derailed. Some passengers reportedly saying seven cars derailed. Some passengers reportedly saying they had to kick out train windows to try to escape. When you look at these pictures, are you able to draw any conclusions based on all the instances you set a train can derail . Are you able to gather a speed at which the strain may have been going . The forces that are involved, when a train starts moving. Remember, even if a train brakes in half where the car separates, that releases all the air. If a train is no longer on the rails, having the brakes that isnt going to do anything and youve got a piece of metal that is moving through the air. Sandra what is the average speed or train like this wouldve been going . Its hard to say. I was reading online this is a new train they are going to operate at a maximum of 79 miles per hour. The interstate Commission Said that if a train was going to be going 80 miles an hour faster, it needed a special type of signal system. Long before a positive train control ever came out. A lot of railroad said we dont need to go 80 miles an hour, we will go 79. There are all sorts of reasons why a train isnt going to go 7, leaving a station, arriving at a station. That train could be moving anywhere from 5 miles an hour to 79 miles an hour but once it goes on the ground you cant stop it. Kennedy what is the status and the longer distance amtrak trains and commuter trains we see in this country, considering the massive fatality crash we saw in los angeles about eight years ago . That started all of this, what is the likelihood that this train its hard to say. Even if it had positive train control, it may not have affected it. If it was a broken axle, once it goes on the ground positive train control doesnt take effect. Also keep in mind that the aspect of positive train control, in these types of accidents, that portion of it exists in technology that is a couple of decades old. It could easily be installed without all the bells and whistles of positive train control. Think of it as my house is on fire and i need to call the fire department, do i need the iphone 15 or can i pick up a landline and call . Sandra what can you tell us about the age of the train we are looking at and condition of the tracks on which it was traveling . Let me say this. Judging from the pictures i have seen, its a fairly new locomotive. I cant tell the cars, the track was probably put their over 100 years ago by the southern pacific, however over time that track is going to be continually upgraded and inspected and renewed and its probably got brandnew rail on it, welded rail, it may have concretize, may have wooden ties. But fra has a track Safety Standards that save you are going to be running trains 79 miles an hour on this track, you need to have certain maintenance. It has to be inspected twice a week at a minimum if i am going to. Harris i was just going to say, we know this is a brandnew line and they spent north of 800 million on doing upgrades. Purchasing equipment for this brandnew rollout today. But for the whole system, that amtrak is running in the region, in the area. We know those details, we would hope and all that spending they wouldve gone to some of the areas you are talking about. We also know from our reporting that the train was going 18 miles per hour. Lets listen to a local television station and watch together. The fatals are all contained to the train. As far as the numbers go, they are still working on that. What we do know is southbound i five, completely closed and will be for quite some time. The train derailed at about 7 40 this morning, was there any traffic before that . What you are seeing is what it is. On the other side of that bridge there are three or four more cars. You mentioned there are some people who have been able to walk off the trains where they are right now . They are being cared for and transportation is coming to take care of them. And those tents we are seeing behind us . Can you talk a little bit about what we are seeing behind us . We train for this all the time, this is a multiple agency response, a very coordinated response. If they are all working in a preplanned operation which is to get the survivors out and the interest to the hospital and obviously for the fatals, they will have to deal with those later. You have any idea, multiple fatalities, that is that mean dozens or at this point we are just told there are multiple fatalities. Theyre not confirming anything. Do you know how many cars are involved on the train . That was the Pierce County Sheriffs Office, they are having us move off of the onramp where we have been this morning. Harris we were just watching the local station channel 4 in seattle, washington. They were asking questions of the Pierce County Sheriffs Office, they are no doubt going to set up a command center, covering these types of incidents. They wouldve done that. Maybe widening the perimeter as well. Thankfully, hopefully they can pull more people out. We do not have a number of multiple fatalities, we dont know exactly what that means because the person from the Pierce County Sheriffs Office didnt know either. But this was an interesting detail and its important to talk about. We know from our own reporting, it was going an estimated 18 miles per hour. From what im reading that wouldve been about the maximum speed for that section of track the train was on but we will work to see if that is in fact the case. That is what our reporting was earlier on and this from the Pierce County Sheriffs Officer, he just told us in reference to the question, how many cars were involved besides the two that you see on your screen, the one you can barely see and the one dangling off that overpass that there are three or four more train cars now out of sight, out of the view of our cameras into the wooded area you see behind the bridge where you see all the authorities working. They are turned upside down from what we are being told there. 70 people on board, we are learning how many of them were affected via injury or death but we know there are multiple fatalities. A real Safety Consultant and former ntsb train and Rapid Transit crash investigator. Thank you for your expertise today, your initial reaction as you see these pictures and learn the details we are now reporting . Its highly unusual that the train derailed at 18 miles an hour. Thats a very low speed and that would indicate there was some kind of either mechanical problem or track problem. Harris i have made perhaps the jump based on things ive covered before that when you have a role out of something that they have the first day for this cascade train line, which was driving along the rather iconic viewpoint of puget sound, they were very proud to get this is one of their first pieces of spending, hundreds of millions of dollars after upgrading thek line. What kind of extra eyes wouldve been on this train of any at all . There may have been some amtrak officials at the first rollout as you say, state officials, there may have been a few people involved. But only inspections and everything going on wouldve taken place before the train rolled and i believe that is a Union Pacific mainline, used to be southern pacific. Thats a fairly busy and well inspected part of the railroad. Kennedy i believe its been reported that the train was traveling 80 miles per hour. Obviously that is going to be an unknown. Reports initially that it was traveling for 80 miles an hour. My question for you, would there have been based on all we can possibly know at this point, if the brakes had been put on, had there been any warning would you expect passengers even if it was seconds . There were not probably have been a warning to the passengers. If it was 79 miles an hour, thats within the tolerance. The engineer would have got an overspeed beep for even 1 mile an hour. And began to bring it down. You can get 1 mile an hour over going downhill a little bit. If he was going that fast, all that information will be recorded on the event recorder. Sandra trying to take in any information we get at this point, we continue to see these images and pictures and we are getting confirmation from the sheriff there that there were multiple fatalities. Obviously injuries that occurred but what sticks out to you as you look at these images . If i saw an overhead view or aerial view i could get a better idea of the dynamics of the derailment because that will indicate the speed of the train to some extent. Sandra marie harf, you seem to want to jump in with a question. Marie this reminds me a little bit of the 2015 derailment we saw around philadelphia, from what ive been looking at, amtrak had 11 safety recommendations given to them after that, it killed eight people, 200 were injured, it turned out it was engineer failure but the train didnt have positive train control, some of these systems if there is operator error they help prevent it. Do you have a sense, if the amtrak folks put in place some of the safety recommendations that were given to them in 20166 in the wake of that philadelphia accident . No, i dont. I believe they did implement their aces system which is basically a version of positive part train control on the curb outside of philadelphia. The track in this accident i believe is on Union Pacific and i suspect, in fact i am pretty sure, the positive train control has been implemented on that track. About a year ago, they had a completion of most of their positive train control in the western part of their system. The amtrak train wouldve been equipped with the same equipmen equipment. Marie for our viewers, describe what positive train control actually does. Its just another level of safety for the train, is that correct . What it does is if the engineer fails to comply with a signal or speed restriction, it automatically will take control of the train. Harris its interesting, i was just reading up on that may 12th derailment you are talking about. Eight people died. 185 others transported to area hospitals. As we go back and forth learning how this whole thing is played out, im going to bring everybody up to speed. In the middle of your screen is now a still picture, interstate five has been shut down, at last check in both directions but certainly southbound. This is around the collision point of the train falling onto the overpass. It is south of seattle in the tacoma area, south of there we are told. This line wouldve been carrying about 70 people at the time. One car flattened from eyewitness reports and officials on the ground. That may or may not mean we dont know. But certainly the one dangling off the overpass we can see going back to the live video. Three to four more cars would be left upside down in a wooded area away from this. As sandra pointed out, the speed at which it was going was far beyond what i had been reporting, 80 miles per hour. Our guest here a rail Safety Consultant, is saying you can pick up a mile or two per hour just going downhill. Not that this has anything to do with that but people inside have called into fox news on their cell phones, talking with our colleague jon scott, a feeling of going downhill. The car you see in the center of your screen was following the other off that overpass. The good news in all of that is there were people explaining there have been multiple fatalities. We are learning a little bit about time, from the ground just getting started. We have that county Sheriffs Office or come out and give details on the ground. This right now is playing out live in Washington State, catastrophe on the first day of this brandnew amtrak cascade line. Sandra could you give us an idea, what is protocol as far as how often the trains themselves are checked and tested in the railways . The railways in this case, because of the administration classifies track one through six basically, the higher the number, the higher the speed. And also the more frequent the inspections. This track was probably looked at at least two or three times a week and i imagine before the run of this operation, the track inspector is well over. The better of the, the more frequent the inspection. Kennedy this is obviously a high profile day for amtrak and regionally as this was the Maiden Voyage of that train leaving the station. A lot of money has been invested in that area. How much does the newness of this day play into this fatality and since we see . If you are going to be in a vehicle that goes along the ground so to speak, amtrak cars are extremely crash worthy. They are not designed nothing is designed to take the kind of hit this one took. I would say most of the people who are injured or even killed had secondary impacts inside the car. Sandra our thoughts are certainly with all involved, rescue efforts are underway at this point. You are talking about a couple hours ago and as you can see the First Responders are on the scene and actively rescuing people. We are told that didnt make it may still be on the train but some may have made it off the train cars. Even as they were dangling, making their way out of windows. We have yet to hear any of the stories, we just have pictures to lean on at this point. Based on your gut when you see that, what are your thoughts about what could possibly have happened . Until the safety board gets there id hate to make conjecture. Right now i would probably say this is equipment or track derailment. Harris as we step away from speculation, i want to get you into the conversation here, good morning. It great to have you. Its unfortunate that we have the situation playing out but i want to draw everybodys attention, you see do you learn a lot by how people are moving around. Larry, just to bring you into the conversation. Larry it shows you that life is completely unpredictable, you never know whats going to happen, you get up in the morning and you expected to be a routine day, sometimes this happens. You hear about the airline being backed up in atlanta, life is full of surprises. How your loved ones and dont assume that tomorrow is guaranteed. Kennedy what an exciting day, you think you have a new way of commuting, first person on that train. A world of possibilities opened up in a place that has been plagued by Traffic Congestion and Something Like this happens a week before christmas. All those people unable to get a hold of their relatives, if they dont know whats happened here, local Law Enforcement doing whatever they can to get as much information out as possible. Sandra can you stand by for us, i want to go to Jonathan Hunt. We need to get an update on what we know at this point. Jonathan, you are live in los angeles, what can you tell us . What we are hearing from the sheriffs spokesman is very disturbing indeed. Multiple fatalities, the Sheriffs Office now confirm and as you look at the picture on the left of the screen, you can see one car dangling off the track. We can tell you that underneath that car, flat across i5 is another car that is in very bad shape. With the sheriffs spokesman told us is even more disturbing, on the other side of that i5 overpass, he said there are 34 other cars completely derailed. One of the quotes the sheriffs spokesman gave to local media was very disturbing indeed. He said that this crash wasnt survivable, unfortunately. As you look at the picture on the screen right there, you can see how badly crushed to the car is that came down flat onto i5. The sheriffs spokesman saying there are 34 more completely off the track on the other side. We dont know how many cars are left up on the tracks, we cant see from the Vantage Point we have so far had it. Clearly youve got one dangling, one on the side of the overpass, completely flat. 34 on the other side. A total of 17 passengers were aboard as we understand. Impossible to tell at this stage how many were in those affected cars. When you hear this sheriffs spokesman say multiple casualties, it wasnt survivable, unfortunately, everybody has to brace themselves for figures that are not going to be very good indeed. It is a terrible looking scene just south of tacoma. Sandra we are going to keep looking for the Pierce County sheriff are continued updates. We are asking for continuous updates via pictures taken on the scene. Which can eventually help some of the officials involved to determine what happened. At this point we just dont kno know. Kennedy thats whats so heartwrenching about this, you want answers, you want to know these facts. Those who were on board, unfortunately with a lot of these investigations, trains in particular, it takes time to keep these things together because there are so many elements and it can be something so minute. Sandra there are so many who dont know if their loved ones are affected. Service disruptions, about 52 minutes ago. They have just a couple minutes ago putting out another statement via twitter saying individuals with questions about their friends and family on this train, 501, should call 8005239101. Harris we have just gotten in a statement, can somebody email that to me right away . Thank you, i am looking for it. A couple of things, we are going to work to get that number on the screen. Kennedy its on the bottom right of the screen right now. Harris after the right, that is great. As soon as we get statements from amtrak we will give them to you. We been watching very closely, there twitter page. That amtrak cascades train, 501 operating from portland. There were approximately 78 passengers, five crew members on board, 78 passengers. Initial reports are that some injuries are reported to passengers and crew who were taken to local medical facilities. Individuals with questions about their friends and family should again read that number, 8005239101. Local Emergency Responders are live at the scene. Sandra initial reports were that this train was carrying 70 passengers, amtrak confirming 78 passengers, five crew members on board. Initial reports, take into local medical facilities for treatmen treatment. We will certainly start to get an update on the ground. Kennedy i think this matters the most to people who are there locally and they may be getting it from local sources but we are seeing service from seattle points north and east, amtrak cascades train 504, 509 have been canceled. No alternate transportation is available. Interstate five still around this area is shut down south and north bound. Im not sure the last check of that but thats the latest information we have. People are put into the alternate routes and arteries around this and they are asking people to stay away from those because they have all they can handle. A former engineer for the Bnsf Railway Company which is one of the largest Rail Networks in north america. He is also a rail investigator for a law firm. I want to thank you for being with us right now. This is a complicated scene in terms of First Responders trying to figure out which way to go first but i would imagine looking at this, you want to keep the scene intact as much as possible so you can figure out what happened. This is horrifying. It looks like there are going to be several fatalities. Its the first day this train has run, over this route. Its so hard to tell, early reports were that there was possibly something struck by the train but i havent heard any followup about that and i dont know for sure. Its so early, the ntsb are the best in the world. Im sure within the next six, seven hours there will be some preliminary indication. Kennedy can i ask you a question . As we look at these images, its hard to tell anything at this point. Im sorry to leave room for speculation but can you tell us, can there be movement from the train car all the way down to the road . That would be one of the most difficult things to start with, stabilize that car and it appears that they have done so. They probably saved people from further injury. The cars we cant see there have been damage very passively. It looked to me that the rain was a lower rate of speed or the car would not be dangling by that. Ive heard there is a 30mileanhour curve coming into that area and reports saying they think they were at about 18 miles an hour. I dont know where they will come up with that information. Kennedy i have a question. Would there be a black box on a train like there is on an airplane . There are recorders and they record several different functions. They will be very heavily scrutinized. Sandra a quick update, tweeting out Family Reunification Center at dupont to city hall. Do not come to the scene. Really important that they steer people away from directly trying to arrive. You are looking at buses, evacuation charters departing hopefully with some of those who have been able to make it off that train and are able to get to safety or medical help. Right now you can imagine a lot of family and friends who are trying to find our love is lovd ones. Harris we know from early reports from people who were inside those cars, we are hopeful and the fact that when you hear a detail like what Jonathan Hunt reported, there is concern that some of this might not have been survivable. As you get away from that train car falling off the overpass, perhaps people were able to get out. Weve heard conflicting sources of whether people were able to crawl out, but we are hopeful at this point. Generally when they mark a car like that that means they taking care of everyone in that car. I can see they havent marked those other cars. They are probably clearing out or had to secure and stabilize. I dont know what kind of feet it would be to stabilize a car hanging like that. Hats off to the First Responders because it looks like they have done quite a job. Because of the accident to the area that is very fortunate. Dont anybody try to go out there, they have their hands full. Harris they are asking people not to because anything can happen away from the scene, they are really asking people if its not essential, necessarilyy travel, stay off the roads near this area. Larry i understand this is the lines inaugural run. I imagine its even more rare for sending this to happen even to make in inaugural run. Its very unusual. Theres a lot of these smaller incidents that go on daylight around the country and you dont hear the reports because thereo fatalities. Or injuries involved something of this magnitude is rare. Ive talked to some of the people, a couple of different amtrak employees who know people working on the train who said they have a topnotch crew. Every day, day in and day out, they are a very professional bunch. It would indicate not to point any fingers in that direction. Harris we dont know any of the team that would have been working on the line but what you are saying is important for people to hear. I know we have some confirmation of the ntsb and what they are doing now. Sandra they are launching a team to investigate the derailment in the state of washington. Additional information to follow when available, that is an update from the ntsb. They are sending a team right now to Washington State. If i could bring up one other thing, looking at the live pictures there, the weather. We havent gotten any aerial images yet. Its been raining, its foggy. We are told its hard to tell in these pictures, it may be pretty wet or still raining. Any local Weather Forecast right now theyre supposed to be some rain in the forecast all morning. Moisture wise for this area we have not had anything out of the ordinary. I would hesitate to think there was any kind of incident or slider or anything like that. The fog we are in seattle. Harris i was thinking the same thing. I was preparing to go on i5 down to vancouver. Harris we are coming up on 10 minutes for the next hour, we want to remind everybody watching on their screen. And also welcome people turning on outnumbered for the first time and seeing First Responders and an emergency response. This was train 501 along amtrak cascade line. That train derailed off onto interstate five. Part of the train escaped onto the ground below and the overpass they were traveling on. Live pictures to the left now, First Responders continue to work at the scene. Away from here, somewhere in that wooded area, 34 more cars ended up upside down and they are working that scene as well. These are via highway cameras, these images, most of them. Sandra just mentioned we hadnt seen those very traditional skyways or aerials, we have online with us john hiatt, former engineer for one of the largest Railway Companies in north america, lets pause for just a second and look at whats happening on the center of the screen. One ambulance pulling away, weve been watching evacuation buses today taking people from the scene but we see now after many First Responders were around that one ambulance. Sandra . Sandra Jonathan Hunt is with us in l. A. Jonathan hunt has an update in l. A. Following the latest detail. Jonathan . Sandra, a very interesting article has just come to our attention. One of the tv stations in Washington State interviewed the mayor of lakewood washington, exactly two weeks ago. Lakewood, i want to point out, is immediately north of dupont where this accident happened. That train wouldve just gone through lakewood after it derailed. Two weeks ago, the mayor of lakewood warned that an accident with these highspeed trains was almost inevitable. He called for further upgrades beyond the 800 million the Washington Department of transport said it spent and this is what the mayor of lakewood said. Come back when there is that accident and try to justify not putting in those safety enhancements or you can go back now and advocate for the money to do it because this project was never needed and endangers our citizens. The mayor of lakewood, washington, exactly two weeks ago. Chilling words. Harris do we want to ask our team to do what you are asking, get them to respond to each other maybe . Sandra lets bring john hiatt back in, one of the largest railroad networks in north america and a railroad investigator. We were just listening to this, what is your reaction to that . Living in this area, i know there was quite an uproar over this. Its tough for me to make a call on Something Like this. This is reminiscent of 1993, we had and i5 shutdown for two days, two trains went head on down there. Communities get scared and they see Something Like that, that community was devastated down there as im sure this community is here. The mayor has not been a strong proponent of this program. Kennedy what was the mayor looking for specifically . When he talks about some of the safety precautions that could have been implemented, obviously real rail lines are incredibly expensive. Sometimes it doesnt benefit as much of some lawmakers would like. What specifically what was he looking for . I cant see into his soul but anybody in the community that sees these trains coming through at 79 miles an hour, even someone like myself who knows what is involved here, its something you want to know is going to be done properly and maintained properly. I didnt specifically read his entire statement but its one of those things, youve got to kennedy are the railways safe . You work for this company for a long time, provided some of this enhancement and some of the track for this new line, is it unsafe . Im not going to say unsafe, i am going to tell you that maintenance is such a major factor, maintenance is one of those things where people can save money, where companies can save money. If they can try to do shorter intervals are longer intervals, less inspections with less standards, any time you Start Talking about in this particular industry about regulations, it is very crucial that everything gets maintained properly. That concern is nationwide but im not going to say the railroads are unsafe. They are safe if you look at them statistically. You go to a microcosm of area by area and you will find areas where it can be frightening. They dont have the proper manpower to do the inspections, when they do the maintenance they may not be doing the expensive version, they may be doing the quick fix version. I have no idea if that came into play here. Sandra a quick update as far as what we know at this point, this is all happening near tacoma, washington. What we know so far, multiple injuries and fatalities, approximately 78 passengers were onboard, five crew members, several vehicles on i5 were struck by the derailed train, injuring multiple motorists. We havent gotten an update in the past 15 minutes or so from the sheriff on the ground. The sheriff is now speaking, i am being told . Lets listen. D. O. T. And other Law Enforcement agencies, we are asking people to please stay off of i5 if you dont need to be here. This is obviously going to take all day if not a couple of days to get this cleared and investigated. Traffic is still able to get through northbound i5 and right now we are providing any assistance amtrak is asking of us. We are providing resources or escorting supplies and resources to the team. Im not sure if you have the answer, but he talked a lot about the new tracks, new upgraded tracks that amtrak talked about, part of that new portion, was it what derailed . What can you tell us about injuries and fatalities . I cant get any updates on this point. Until i can get in touch with them i cant release any information. Did you say its been difficult to get in touch with amtrak . Obviously it is, you can hear my phone going off right now, i am sure i am having a hard time getting in touch, they are probably having a hard time filtering phone calls. As soon as they can get back to me i will get more information. Reporter is the rescue effort still underway . Yes, it is. I cant speak on that, that would have to be i dont know what theyre doing, i am sorry. People who had family members on the train, we ask that you do not come to the scene. Go to city hall, family members will be there, they have already taken buses there. Are you saying its possible that southbound could be shutdown for several days . We will be investigating for several days. I5 will be shut down, we are working, hopefully we can get some other detours going and get people around. You you are hearing this is still a rescue operation. Sandra you were listening to local authorities on the ground there. Washington state patrol giving an update. What we know as there are many people being transported to area hospitals right now after this amtrak train number 501 derailed several hours ago, carrying 78 passengers, five crew members. The train derailed, still dangling there. Multiple fire trucks are pulled up, you have to wonder about what they are doing. This is still an active rescue scene. If you any loved ones involved, the number of people on the ground they are in this rescue operation is unbelievable. Pictures coming and have been unbelievable. Amtrak 501, still waiting to hear what the number of casualties may be, fatalities may be. We do know kennedy we dont want to speculate at this point but you know for certain that the amount of coordination required as john hiatt was telling us to stabilize those trains and how difficult that must be from an engineering perspective and also not just the trains but making sure no other cars derailed but also getting First Responders in there and extricating people in some unimaginable conditions. Survivors and fatalities weve heard about out of the train. They can get as much information as possible to family members and Law Enforcement. Please stay away from the area, i5 is closed in both directions right now. It is impossible to get to that site essentially and there is a family unification area if you had loved ones on the train. Sandra stay away from that particular area so they can continue with rescue efforts. An interesting question thrown out by a local reporter on the ground as we were all listening, is this the new portion, which was really interesting because they were talking about this being an inaugural run of this particular highspeed train. 79 miles an hour is apparently the limit we had earlier, we had early reports it was traveling 80 miles an hour. That is still within reasonable speeds but if you look back at some of the earlier warnings about train taking turns at that pace, its an interesting question weve heard. 78 passengers involved, the rescue effort is ongoing. We will have more for you in just a moment. Harris we will begin a fox news alert on that deadly Train Derailment over a freeway in Washington State. Outnumbered overtime, im harris faulkner. You are looking now live at dupont, washington. This line was running through seattle southbound. We understand this was the first route that it was run today. Much anticipation since last friday, ribboncutting for the train line you see in front of you. On the ground, this is interstate five at the bottom of your screen. Just beyond those First Responders, trucks, and