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U.S. NEWS A5
Friday 10 March 2017

NTSB: Fatal railroad crossing not on tour bus route

Serena Gilich watches as Buddy Hammett, and Laurie Kuluz place crosses and flowers at the which the CSX freight train the passengers to get off
north side of the railroad tracks near the scene of Tuesday’s fatal train-bus wreck at the Main slammed into the bus at a shortly before the train hit.
Street railroad crossing in Biloxi, Miss. Glitch is the wife of Biloxi Mayor Andre “FoFo” Gilich. humped rail crossing on Bi- The female passenger was
loxi’s Main Street. seated right behind the
(John Fitzhugh/The Sun Herald via AP) The NTSB official Sumwalt driver.
said a forward-facing “He told us to get off, and
camera on the train took he was trying to see that
clear color photos of the everybody got off,” said
bus leading up to and im- Justine Nygren, speaking
mediately after the crash, by phone with The Associ-
The Sun Herald (http://bit. ated Press after returning to
ly/2n50RUf) reported. her Texas home. “He stuck
Sumwalt didn’t give de- with the bus, I know that.
tails of what the pictures He didn’t get off when we
showed and said investi- did.”
gators haven’t yet inter- Another bus returned her
viewed the driver. He said and seven other uninjured
the investigation is con- survivors Wednesday night
tinuing and a team will be to Bastrop, Texas, the Aus-
traveling to Dallas to meet tin American-Statesman
with bus owner Echo Trans- reported (http://atxne.
portation, and to Florida to ws/2m4c3Lz). The week-
meet with Diamond Tours. long trip was organized by
A survivor said Thursday a senior citizens’ center
that after bus became in Bastrop, about 30 miles
lodged on the crossing, east of Austin.q
the bus driver yelled for all

J. McCONNAUGHEY vehicle use rather than di-
S. SMITH rections from the tour com-
Associated Press pany, WLOX-TV reported.

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Speaking at a news con-

The Texas tour bus hit by ference, Sumwalt also said
a freight train in a deadly two other buses apparent-
crash wasn’t supposed to ly followed the route pro-

have taken the road where vided by Florida-based Di-

it got stuck at a rail crossing amond Tours to the casino
earlier this week, a federal where they were headed
official said Thursday. in Biloxi, Mississippi.
National Transportation In Texas, survivors and fam-

Safety Board member ily members of the dead

Robert Sumwalt said the began filing lawsuits as
driver may have followed more details emerged
a GPS set for commercial of Tuesday’s crash, in

Police: Suspect arrested after
Detroit arson fire that killed 5

DETROIT (AP) — Police in- torch,” Fornell said. “There
vestigating an arson fire was a lot of fire in the back,
said Thursday they arrested but the fire was being
a 55-year-old-man who pushed into the building by
lived in a Detroit apartment the wind.”
building where a blaze The Detroit Free Press re-
fanned by high winds killed ports Fornell said authori-
five people and injured ties believe the man “may
four. have had an argument
Officer Jennifer Moreno with the landlord.”
said the fire Wednesday A man who wasn’t breath-
may have followed an ar- ing was pulled from the
gument, but police aren’t building by firefighters and
sure. No charges have was taken to a hospital,
been filed. where he was pronounced
Deputy Fire Commissioner dead, Fornell said. Four
David Fornell told the Asso- bodies later were found
ciated Press that investiga- on the second floor of the
tors have determined the building, he said.
fire was arson. Fornell said No identifications have
wind gusts up to 60 mph at been made due to the
the two-story, brick build- condition of the bod-
ing made it difficult for fire ies, said Jim Martinez, a
crews. spokesman for the county
“It was like facing a blow- medical examiner. q