Couple files lawsuit alleging Amtrak overcrowded train that crashed in Mendon, Missouri

A couple is suing Amtrak and others after a woman sustained life-altering injuries in the June 27 train derailment that killed four people in rural Missouri, according to court documents.

Plaintiffs Janet and David Williams, who live in Dubuque, Iowa, filed a lawsuit July 1 in the U.S. Eastern District Court of Missouri. The suit was filed against Amtrak, BNSF Railway Company and MS Contracting, LLC.

BNSF Railway Company is the owner and operator of the tracks the train traveled on and the crossing it traveled through. MS Contracting, LLC, is the company that owned the truck the train crashed into on the tracks, according to court documents.

The lawsuit alleges that the Amtrak train that derailed was dangerously overcrowded, and that Amtrak was aware of the issue and did nothing to prevent it.

“Amtrak’s intentional decision to overcrowd the train with passengers and luggage beyond its safe capacity was motivated purely by the desire to sell more tickets and reap greater profits at the expense of passenger safety,” plaintiffs said in court documents.

According to court documents, Janet Williams suffered devastating injuries, along with over 150 other injured passengers.

The Southwest Chief Train was traveling from Los Angeles to Chicago when it crashed at a crossing near Mendon, Missouri, about 115 miles northeast of Kansas City. It was carrying approximately 275 passengers and 12 crew members.

Janet Williams was violently thrown from her seat when the car she was in flipped on its side, according to the lawsuit. She laid on the bottom of the overturned car as other passengers and luggage fell on top of her.

She was traveling home to Dubuque from a trip to New Mexico when the train crashed.

“Janet put her life in Defendants’ hands as she set out on her journey home,” plaintiffs said in the lawsuit. “This trust was misplaced.”

The lawsuit also alleges that the crossing where the crash occurred was exceptionally dangerous, and BNSF Railway was aware of the danger for years.

“This accident and the death and destruction it caused was entirely preventable,” the lawsuit alleges.

The Star previously reported that a farmer in the area of the crash said railway officials have known for years that the crossing was dangerous.

This is at least the second lawsuit filed against Amtrak following the crash. Four passengers and two crew members who were aboard the train filed civil lawsuits against Amtrak, BNSF Railway and the company that owned the truck in early July.

The wife of the truck driver who was killed in the crash also filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the county where the crash occurred.

Amtrak spokesman Marc Magliari said the company will respond through the court to answer the filing.

Representatives for BNSF Railway and MS Contracting did not immediately respond to requests for comment.