Last updated: 12/18/2017 11:56 p.m. An Amtrak train on its inaugural run from Seattle to Portland derailed Monday morning, sending several cars car off an overpass and onto a busy Interstate 5 below. The derailment happened in DuPont, about 40 miles south of Seattle near Joint Base Lewis-McChord, around 7:30 a.m., during the morning rush hour. The cause of the crash is being investigated by the National Transportation Safety Board. A spokeswoman from the agency said late Monday night that investigators were able to download the event data recorder from the rear locomotive. The data show the train traveling at about 80 miles per hour on a 30-mph part of track shortly before the derailment.

DuPont Fire Chief Larry Creekmore confirmed at least three deaths late Monday afternoon, with roughly 100 patients transferred to area hospitals for care. Authorities said Monday night that all of the train cars have been searched and no victims remained at the scene. The Pierce County Sheriff’s Department said multiple drivers were injured but that are no reports of any drivers being killed. Washington State Patrol spokeswoman Brooke Bova said she believed the three confirmed fatalities were passengers on the train. Greg Mukai was driving southbound on I-5 when the derailment occurred about 50 yards in front of him. "It clicked in my mind after I stared at it for a couple seconds that that was the train that I was just looking at earlier," he said.

“It was really quiet – I was expecting more noise and craziness to be going on,” he said. “I think everybody was really in shock.” Mukai said he then saw people getting out of their cars and rushing to help. Many appeared to be military personnel wearing their uniform or morning workout gear. Daniel Konzelman was one of the people who rushed to help. As an accountant he was dressed in a suit, but had boots and a headlamp in his car from a hike last weekend. "It just worked out good, I think it was a God thing," he said, speaking to KUOW's Kim Malcolm. Konzelman and his girlfriend assisted people at the scene, helping the walking wounded to get to safety. Konzelman said he entered multiple cars to help assess and comfort those that were trapped while waiting for first responders.

Emma Shafer, speaking to media at DuPont City Hall, said she was on the train car that was dangling from the bridge over I-5. "It kind of felt like just like the end of the world, like you’d just come out of this nuclear bunker and you’re just like standing amongst all of this wreckage,” she said. Trooper Bova said the train had 12 cars and two engines. A total of 13 cars jumped the tracks. Bova said five vehicles and two semitrailers on I-5 were hit. Train 501 is one of four new trains that Amtrak added to their schedule between Seattle and Portland. The new service started Monday morning. The derailment occurred on the first run of the new morning train.

Even before today’s fatal derailment, cities along the new Amtrak route have been voicing safety concerns for more than a decade. In 2013, Lakewood, Washington sued in an attempt to block the train route from passing through town. They lost. Lakewood City Councilmember John Simpson said the biggest concern was safety, with trains traveling up to speeds of 79 miles per hour. “It is an issue that the city of Lakewood was adamantly opposed to in order for the train to save six minutes of travel time,” he said. Two weeks ago, the mayor of Lakewood predicted the new route would lead to deaths; not due to derailment, but because of the increased number of railroad crossings in suburban areas.