The aftermath of the accident. NBC/AP.
An Amtrak train carrying dozens of GOP lawmakers crashed into a truck on the tracks, killing one person and wounding another. NBC News. The driver of the truck was killed and his passenger was critically injured. Five others went to the hospital. The members of the house and senate were on the way to a retreat in West Virginia, but none of them or their staff were hurt. Several lawmakers assisted first responders with the incident including Senator Jeff Flake and doctor representatives Bill Cassidy and Brad Wenstrup. Representative Rodger Marshall preformed CPR for the conductor of the train but was unable to help the driver of the truck.
My Comment:
Very scary situation today. Considering this train carried literally hundreds of Republican lawmakers, this could have been a disaster of epic proportions. Thankfully no lawmakers were hurt, despite the tragic death and injuries of a few involved. I don't want to downplay that but after what we have gone through with our lawmakers lately, it's a relief that none of them were hurt.
After all, it wasn't that long ago that the Alexandria terrorist attack happened that critically wounded Rep. Steve Scalise and could have potentially killed many representatives and senators. Also, Rand Paul was critically injured in a dispute with his neighbor that may have been based on politics. I think there is a totally justified fear of losing elected officials and this incident brought them back to the forefront.
There is no evidence that this was anything other than a tragic accident. I think that any intent here is extremely unlikely, but that won't stop conspiracy theorists. I have to admit though that if you were trying to destabilize or damage the United States derailing a train full of lawmakers would be a good way to do it. Still, it seems extremely unlikely that this was an attack.
I do think that this shows why having so many lawmakers in one spot is probably a bad idea. It's probably ok with high security events like the State of the Union but a train is pretty vulnerable. It wouldn't have been too difficult to actually stage an attack on this train. Plus it would have been very easy for this kind of accident to have had way more casualties. Perhaps it would be wise to either split up the method of travel, with some flying and others going on a train, or stagger the train rides.
I do have to say that the members of congress were fairly heroic in this incident. It looks like a lot of them did their best to help out. This probably saved the life of the conductor who was given CPR by Rodger Marshall. That was a fairly heroic action and Marshall deserves credit, along with doctors Cassidy and Wenstrup. Even Jeff Flake, who I generally dislike, helped out and even though I don't like the guy I have to admit his actions here, and during the Steve Scalise shooting, were heroic.
After all, it wasn't that long ago that the Alexandria terrorist attack happened that critically wounded Rep. Steve Scalise and could have potentially killed many representatives and senators. Also, Rand Paul was critically injured in a dispute with his neighbor that may have been based on politics. I think there is a totally justified fear of losing elected officials and this incident brought them back to the forefront.
There is no evidence that this was anything other than a tragic accident. I think that any intent here is extremely unlikely, but that won't stop conspiracy theorists. I have to admit though that if you were trying to destabilize or damage the United States derailing a train full of lawmakers would be a good way to do it. Still, it seems extremely unlikely that this was an attack.
I do think that this shows why having so many lawmakers in one spot is probably a bad idea. It's probably ok with high security events like the State of the Union but a train is pretty vulnerable. It wouldn't have been too difficult to actually stage an attack on this train. Plus it would have been very easy for this kind of accident to have had way more casualties. Perhaps it would be wise to either split up the method of travel, with some flying and others going on a train, or stagger the train rides.
I do have to say that the members of congress were fairly heroic in this incident. It looks like a lot of them did their best to help out. This probably saved the life of the conductor who was given CPR by Rodger Marshall. That was a fairly heroic action and Marshall deserves credit, along with doctors Cassidy and Wenstrup. Even Jeff Flake, who I generally dislike, helped out and even though I don't like the guy I have to admit his actions here, and during the Steve Scalise shooting, were heroic.
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