Careening around a curve at almost three times the speed limit, an Amtrak passenger train derailed and hurled 13 of its 14 cars off both sides of an overpass and onto rush hour traffic below, killing three people and injuring more than 100 others.
The Amtrak Cascades 501 train was carrying 86 people as it made its inaugural journey on a new service route from Seattle to Portland when it derailed, CNN reported.
It's not clear why the train was traveling 80 mph in a 30 mph zone, National Transportation Safety Board member T. Bella Dinh-Zarr said. Several motorists in vehicles that were struck by the fallen train cars suffered injuries, but no one on the road was killed, the Pierce County Sheriff’s Office said. Five cars and two semi-trucks were involved in the crash, Washington State patrol spokeswoman Brooke Bova said at a news conference.
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