HIGGINSON — No one was seriously injured when an Amtrak train from Chicago derailed in Arkansas.
Amtrak spokeswoman Karina Romero says the Texas Eagle derailed just after 3 a.m. Wednesday in Higginson — about 45 miles northeast of Little Rock. The train was headed for Los Angeles via San Antonio.
White County Sheriff's Office Sgt. Greg Coney said the last three cars of the seven-car and two-engine train jumped off the track and they remained upright. But Amtrak road foreman George Whitlock reports that only two cars derailed.
According to Whitlock, the cars derailed as the train was changing tracks at a crossover. The train was going 26 miles per hour in a 30 miles per hour zone, so the derailment was not likely due to speeding, Whitlock said.
Whitlock said there were 200 passengers and 14 crew members on board.
Sgt. Coney said only a few minor aches and pains were reported.
"We are extremely thankful no one was seriously hurt," Coney said.
A cause of the derailment has not been determined. Investigators with Amtrak and Union Pacific, which owns the track, are on scene looking into what happened.
Firefighters escorted passengers off the train, and Little Rock Tours arrived with charter buses to take them to Little Rock.
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