Amtrak train impaled by tree near Seattle during bomb cyclone windstorm
Train No. 519 had left Vancouver, B.C. just before 8 p.m. and was heading south toward Seattle when it crashed into a tree that had fallen on the tracks near the town of Silvana.
Pacific Northwest blasted by Bomb Cyclone
More than 400,000 people are still without power after a bomb cyclone rattled Seattle and other areas in the Northwest. Strong winds knocked trees onto roads and houses and at least 2 people died.
SILVANA, Wash. — An Amtrak engineer escaped serious injury when a tree impaled the front cab of a train caught in Tuesday’s bomb cyclone-fueled windstorm near Seattle.
Train No. 519 had left Vancouver, B.C. just before 8 p.m. and was heading south toward Seattle when it crashed into a tree that had fallen on the tracks near the town of Silvana, about 50 miles north of the Emerald City, Amtrak officials said.
BOMB CYCLONE SLAMS SEATTLE AREA WITH FIERCE WINDS LEAVING AT LEAST 2 DEAD
The impact sent a part of the tree through the front windshield of the engine and caused significant damage to the rest of the cab.
The engineer was taken to a local hospital to be checked out and was later released, Amtrak said. There were no injuries to any of the 48 passengers on board.
The windstorm, one of the strongest to strike the region in nearly 20 years, left a wide swath of damage across Western Washington’s foothill communities.
Gusts reached 50-75 mph, and over 700,000 electrical customers lost power during the peak of the storm. Two people were killed by falling trees and at least two others were injured.
Nearly 200,000 customers still remained without power three days later.