ABC News: U.S.: 4 Dead as Train Hits Vets' Parade

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4 Dead as Train Hits Vets' Parade Nov 16th 2012, 03:39 Four people died and 17 others were taken to a hospital when a train crashed into a parade float carrying wounded veterans in Midland, Texas, late this afternoon. "Apparently, there were two fatalities at the time of the incident and two more at the hospital that passed away after they'd been transported," Midland Police Chief Price Robinson said. Midland Memorial Hospital confirmed the four deaths to ABC News. Of the 17 injured at the hospital, 10 were in critical condition and seven were in stable condition, Robinson said. The float was one of two 18-wheel trailers carrying wounded veterans and their families during the parade when a train approached, according to Hamid Vatankhah, a witness who owns a used car lot near the scene of the crash. The first truck crossed the tracks in time, but the second did not, Vatankhah said, adding that sirens from the police cars in the parade may have drowned out the sound of the approaching train. The Midland Reporter-Telegram In this photo of Garfield and Front Street in... View Full Size "First Book" Milestone: Children in Need Receive 100 Million Books Watch Video Sandy Wreaks Havoc for Car Buyers: 250,000 Cars Ruined by Hurricane Sandy Watch Video Inside the Petraeus Scandal: Did Broadwell and Kelley Profit? Watch Video "Some people were able to jump, and some that were sitting in wheelchairs on top couldn't do nothing about it," Vatankhah said. The floats in the Show of Support's Hunt for Heroes parade were crossing Union Pacific train tracks around 4:35 p.m. local time at Garfield Street and Industrial Avenue en route to a Show of Support Banquet, according to ABC News affiliate KMID-TV. Witnesses said the railroad gate did not go down before the floats got to the tracks, KMID reported. However, a Union Pacific spokesman said it appeared safety devices at the crash site were working. "Our preliminary findings indicate that the lights and gates were working at the time of the incident and that our train crew sounded the locomotive horn," said the spokesman, Tom Lange. The National Transportation Safety Board was launching a team to the site to investigate the crash. It expected to have investigators at the site this evening and a full team on site by Friday. Investigators will be able to determine the speed of the train, as well as whether the train's horn was sounded prior to the accident, when they examine the train's black box. ABC News' Matt Hosford contributed to this report.

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