Sen. Cassidy rendered aid to injured after GOP train crash today

Photo: Crozet Volunteer Fire Department

CROZET, Virginia - Two Louisiana lawmakers were on a train carrying republican members of Congress from Washington, D.C., to West Virginia for a retreat when the train collided with a garbage truck at a railroad crossing in rural Virginia before lunch Wednesday.

Sen. Bill Cassidy and Congressman Garret Graves were on the train.

“We were sitting in our chair, heard a loud noise and a big bump,” Sen. Bill Cassidy of Baton Rouge said in a phone call with WBRZ about the crash. Cassidy said some people who were walking in the aisle at the time had fallen down.

> LISTEN: Sen. Cassidy talks about the crash and helping the injured in a phone call with WBRZ Wednesday afternoon. Click here for the recording.

The crash happened in Crozet, Virginia, about 15 miles west of Charlottesville. The Amtrak train was going about 50 mph when it slammed into the truck, tossing the truck like a toy and spewing garbage all over the place.

“As you walk… you start seeing trash,” Cassidy said about the appearance of wreckage seen outside as he walked from his seat toward where the wreckage was.

Cassidy said his wife, Laura, who is also a doctor tended to minor issues in the cabin along with medical staff assigned to Congress. Cassidy said he knew the people in the truck wouldn't have immediate help, so he sought to render aid. Cassidy said he and a handful of other legislators with medical training also helped.

Cassidy and Graves were the only Louisiana legislators on the train. Rep. Steve Scalise, also of Louisiana, said he was not on the train but his staffers were. They were not hurt, he said in a tweet.

There were three people in the truck. Two were seriously injured and the third person died.

No lawmakers were hurt.

Our train, in route to our Republican planning conference, hit a truck at a crossing in VA. The train stayed on the tracks. Hopefully there were no serious injuries on the train. Sidney and I are shaken but okay. Please pray for the 2 people in the truck and their families. — Gregg Harper (@GreggHarper) January 31, 2018