Two sisters who died in the deadly Missouri Amtrak crash were on a trip with their mother and one of their daughters for their first vacation away in many years.
Rachelle Cook, 58, and Kim Holsapple, 56, were both from Desoto, Kansas, and were among the four people killed in the horrific crash that injured 150 others, including Rachelle and Kim’s mother and Kim’s daughter. Cook and Holsapple died at the scene of the accident.
Kim’s wife, Jim Hart, posted on Facebook that they were on their way to Chicago for a few days and were ‘excited’ to be traveling together for the first time in many years.
‘Kim and her sister Rachelle along with Tiffany headed down to the restrooms, where as they were waiting their turn the the train derailed, sliding on its side hundreds of feet trapping many and killing the two moms while sparing Tiffany,’ Hart wrote.
‘Wardrobes were picked, bling was stashed, coolers were packed, and honey-do lists handed out to those of us who stayed behind to ‘hold down the fort’.’
‘Their mother Pauline who was still in her seat upstairs was also injured requiring hospitalization. Many more injuries occurred, with an additional passenger succumbing a day later.’
Hart has started a GoFundMe to ‘help cover final expenses’ that has raised $8,000 of their $15,000 goal as of Wednesday afternoon.
Billy Barton II, 54, of Brookfield, Missouri, was also killed in the collision, according to the Chariton County coroner.
A third passenger, 82-year-old Binh Pham of Kansas City, Missouri, died in a hospital on Tuesday.
After the train’s locomotive struck the at a railroad crossing in Mendon, Missouri, at about 90 mph, eight train cars were derailed and flipped on their sides.
The Missouri State Highway Patrol confirmed in a statement that those hospitalized had ‘injuries ranging from minor to serious in nature.’
According to Amtrak officials, the train carried approximately 275 passengers and twelve crew members. The victims’ identities have not been revealed.
When the train collided with the dump truck, which was blocking the public crossing over the tracks, it was traveling from Los Angeles to Chicago.
One of the train’s locomotives was derailed and thrown sideways off the tracks, bringing eight of its cars down with it. The dump truck was completely destroyed, according to photos from the accident.
Yesterday evening, State Highway Patrol Lt. Eric Brown stated that there was still a ‘active and ongoing investigation at the scene.’
According to officials, the collision occurred at the uncontrolled Porch Prairie Avenue gravel road crossing, which lacks electronic warning devices and gates.
Several residents noted that the crossing had long been known to be extremely dangerous, and that the railroad was aware of the danger but fail to address it.
Mike Spencer, 64, said he had long advocated for safety improvements at railroad crossings in Mendon, Missouri, where the intersection at Porche Prairie Avenue had been scheduled for improvements for four months before the train collided with the dump truck.
‘They knew it was unsafe,’ Spencer told the Kansas City Star. ‘That was pretty much a no-brainer… I predicted this was going to happen. I was certain this was going to happen. It was just a matter of time.’
The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the crash.
You can donate to the GoFundMe for Kim and Rachelle here.