5 still unaccounted for in Amtrak crash

An Amtrak spokesman said Sunday at least five passengers from Friday's deadly Amtrak collision with semi-truck remain unaccounted for as local and federal investigators continue to comb the crash 35 miles north of Fallon for more clues to the accident and possibly to find more bodies.

Six people were killed Friday when a semi-tractor truck used for hauling gravel skidded into two double-decker cars of the California Zephyr at a railroad crossing, causing an inferno to gut out the cars. More than 20 of the most seriously injured were transported by helicopter to either hospitals in Reno or Fallon.

"Amtrak is still working to lower that number," said spokesman Cliff Coles,

referring to the unaccounted passengers.

Capt. John Haugen  said the Churchill County Sheriff's Office, which also

doubles as the coroner's office, will return to the site Monday to look for

more bodies. He said Churchill County has been working closely with the

Washoe County Medical Examiners office, and the National Safety

Transportation Board said a forensic anthropologist will also assist them

looking through the rubble.

The original manifest listed 204 passengers with a crew of 14. At least one

crew member, conductor Laurette Lee, 68, of South Lake Tahoe, Calif., is

the only fatality whose identity has been confirmed.

The Nevada Highway Patrol said the semi-truck driver is a 43-year-old male from

Winnemucca, but the next of kin has not been "officially" notified.

The NTSB had reported the previous day it could not verify the whereabouts

of 28 passengers.

"That number has come down significantly," Coles said.

During the next several days, Coles said it will be a combined effort

between Amtrak and local authorities to determine the fate of those missing.

Meanwhile, NTSB investigators are planning to meet with the owner of a

semi-tractor rig on Tuesday to inspect the company's records and gain more

information about the driver.

"The Human Performance Team along with the Operations Team will be visiting

the company and looking at the driver's health, medical history as well as

training and experience," said NTSB member Earl Weener.

 Since September 2010, Weener said the John Davis Trucking Company of Battle

Mountain has been involved with 19 random roadside inspections which

resulted in seven violations. One violation resulted in placing a truck out

of service. Weener emphasized that none of the inspections involved the

truck involved in the Amtrak  collision.

The Associated Press reported Sunday that federal records show the Nevada

Department of Public Safety cited the company for two crashes in the last

two years, including one in February 2010 that injured a person in Washoe

County. Authorities found tires on one company tractor-trailer so bald in a

January inspection they deemed the rig an imminent hazard to public safety.

The trucking company's website states the firm has been in business since

the 1970s and calls itself a family owned trucking company.

"We specialize in hauling ore to and from the local area mines. We also haul

sand and gravel products locally to homes and businesses in the Battle

Mountain area. We have a fleet of 50 side-dump trucks and one lowboy,"

reports the website.

Examining the truck-tractor at the crash site has been an arduous task, said

Weener.

"A portion of the truck-tractor is still imbedded in the railcar. Because of

the serious damage, it has been difficult to do much of an assessment of the

tractor," Weener said. "The trailers have been reviewed in a DOT (Nevada

Department of Transportation) yard."

Weener said many trucks have a data recorder, but because of the extend of

the fire that engulfed the two passenger cars, the NTSB doesn't expect the

data recorder will yield any information.

Weener said investigators will collect information from multiple sources to

determine why the truck did the stop, even though the warning signal for an

approaching train was activated. Weener said the activated signal is visible

at least one-half mile for an approaching motorist.

 The train's speed at the time was 78 mph in an 80 mph zone. Weener said

skid marks from the truck began 320 feet before the crossing and continued

to the collision site. Weener said investigators have not determined the

truck's speed.

"The data indicates all aspects of the gates, lights and signals were

operating properly," he said.

Weener pointed out the engineer saw the collision from the train's rear-view

mirror and activated emergency braking. The train, which rocked back and

forth from the impact but did not tip over, stopped about a half mile from

the crossing.

"The train engineer saw the truck approaching and knew impact was imminent,"

Weener said.

Weener said the two drivers following the lead truck in a convoy also saw

the signal activate and took action to slow down. They did not see the lead

truck stopping, though.

Furthermore, Weener said investigators are sensitive to cell phone use.

"We have of yet to identify if the driver had a cell phone in use or his

possession," Weener said.

Weener said investigators have also begun interviewing as many witnesses as

possible.

Weener said the two passenger cars have been shifted to another track near

the crossing, but the rest of the cars have been transported to an Amtrak

facility for refurbishing.