KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Amtrak and BNSF Railway have settled a lawsuit with survivors of the truck driver whose dump truck was struck by the Southwest Chief in June 2022, derailing the train and killing the driver and three passengers.
WDAF-TV reports Erin Barton, widow of driver Billy Dean Barton II, and the couple’s five children will receive an unspecified amount as a result of the settlement.
The Barton family had filed suit in Chariton County, Mo., Circuit Court the day before Amtrak and BNSF sued MS Contracting, Billy Barton’s employer, in federal court [see “Amtrak and BNSF, widow of truck driver file suits …,” Trains News Wire, July 1, 2022].
The Chief was traveling at 87 mph when it struck the dump truck and derailed in the June 27, 2022 derailment in Mendon, Mo., killing Barton and three passengers on the train, and sending 146 passengers and crew members to hospitals for treatment. The NTSB determined that the nature of the crossing, protected only by crossbucks and a stop sign, was a factor in the accident because it made it difficult for a driver to see an approaching train [see “Design of crossing contributed …,” News Wire, Aug. 2, 2023].
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