A couple who died in an Amtrak crash celebrated their 50th birthday on a “trip of a lifetime” when their train derailed.
Don and Margie Varnadoe of Georgia were on board the train when it came off the tracks near Joplin, Montana on Saturday.
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Don and Margie Varnadoe celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary when their train derailed in Montana
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Three people died and 50 were injured in the accident on SaturdayCredit: AP
Don, a 74-year-old banker, told his colleagues the day before their trip that their cross-country adventure was going to be a “dream vacation”.
Robert Kozlowski, the managing broker at Coldwell Banker Access Realty, told the Associated Press, “He called the office and said how excited they were.
“He said, ‘This is our journey of a lifetime and we are so looking forward to it’.”
A colleague joked that Don may have had to leave Margie, 72, at home when he was struggling to print her online ticket.
In the months leading up to vacation, he reportedly spent months watching videos of train journeys.
Kozlowski said that Margie and Don were very much loved by work colleagues.
She brought flowers, cakes and presents to the office and brought one last batch of brownies just before they left for their anniversary trip.
Margie, who was retired, had worked as a teacher and caretaker in Glynn County while Don sold real estate for more than four decades.
The incident, which occurred around 4 p.m. on Saturday, killed three people and injured 50.
The train, which carried 141 passengers and 16 crew members, was traveling at about 75 mph as it deviated from the track in a gradual curve. It is not known what caused the crash.
Eight of the ten carriages on the train are reported to have derailed.
The software engineer Zach Schneider, 28, from Illinois was identified as another victim.
He traveled to Portland, Oregon for a vacation with his wife, 26, Becca.
Becca, who was injured in the accident, has since filed a lawsuit.
The lawsuit alleges that Zach left Becca in the sleeping car and sat in the observation car, where he was “horribly mutilated” and killed.
Amtrak and BNSF made no response to comment on the lawsuit when raised by the Associated Press.
“Terribly mutilated”
Amtrak chief executive Bill Flynn said the company is mourning the people who have been killed.
He said: “’We have no words that can adequately express our grief for those who have lost a loved one or were injured in this terrible event. They are in our thoughts and prayers. “
Amanda Frickel, the Montana Disaster and Rescue Services coordinator, said “well over 50 people were injured”.
She said rescue teams rushed to the scene and several hospitals – as well as medical helicopters – were on standby.
Photos posted on social media showed wagons on their sides and passengers standing next to the tracks.
A person who was asleep when the train derailed told an Al Jazeera journalist that when they woke up, they found a “bloody” scene in the other cars.
Twitter user Jacob Cordeiro, who apparently posted photos of the scene, shared pictures and said, “We are derailed”.
‘A WALL OF DUST’
A user replied: “Do you have any idea what is being done? My mother is on the train.”
Another commented: “Yes, please, any information is welcome as I also have family on this train and I have not been told what is being done.”
A third wrote: “This is also the information I am looking for. You are in the middle of nowhere and I hope that someone will soon come for those who are well.”
Local farmer Trevor Fossen, 29, said he saw a “wall of dust” fill the sky when the train derailed.
He told the AP, “I started looking at this and wondering what it was and then I saw the train overturned and derailed.”
The accident occurred in a remote location as Great Falls – the nearest town – is two hours away.
Matt Jones, a spokesman for the BNSF Railway, said the line was last inspected Thursday, DailyMail.com reports.
Between 50 and 60 people were taken to a local school where they were provided with food and water.
A grocery store in Chester, about 5 miles from the derailment site, and a religious community provided assistance to the survivors.
National Transportation Service Board officials are investigating the incident, but it is reported that the results of the investigation could take months.
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Zach Schneider also died in the train accidentPhoto credit: Facebook
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Crews try to remove the mangled debris from the tracksThe 28-year-old man, who was killed along with 2 others in an Amtrak train derailed, was on vacation with his wife when friends pay tribute to the engineer
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