Poorly Designed Crossing Contributed to Fatal Missouri Amtrak Derailment in 2022
UNDATED (AP) — A dump truck driver last year may have never seen an oncoming Amtrak train before it was too late, federal investigators concluded in a report, finding that a steep, poorly designed railroad crossing in rural Missouri contributed to last year's fatal Amtrak derailment that killed four people and injured 146 others.
The National Transportation Safety Board said Wednesday that the 45-degree angle where the road crossed the tracks made it hard for the dump truck driver to see the approaching train, and the steep approach discouraged the truck driver from stopping beforehand. "The safest rail grade crossing is no rail grade crossing. But at the very least, every road-rail intersection should have an adequate design to ensure proper visibility so drivers can see oncoming trains," NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy said. "Communities across the country deserve safer crossings so these types of accidents don't happen again."
The NTSB said the dump truck driver ignored a stop sign before continuing through the crossing near Mendon at a speed of about 5 mph. The train was only able to slow 2 mph to 87 mph after the crew saw the truck approaching and slammed on the brakes. The NTSB has previously said investigators didn't find any problems with the train's brakes or other mechanical issues. The engineer blew the train's horn as required as he approached the crossing, but the dump truck driver still inexplicably continued across the tracks. After the train tore the dump truck apart, state troopers found the speedometer needle stuck at 5 mph and the tachometer still displaying 1,100 rpm.
The crossing didn't have any lights or signals to warn that a train was approaching. Before the crash, area residents had expressed concerns for nearly three years about the safety of the crossing because of the lack of visibility. Another dump truck driver who witnessed the crash told investigators that he also typically ignored the stop sign at the crossing because the steep grade of the gravel road entering the crossing made it hard to start up again for the trucks loaded with rock for a nearby levee project that were equipped with manual transmissions.
Investigators said the grade approaching the crossing was much steeper than the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials recommends. The road dropped 39 inches over the 30 feet approaching the tracks. Experts recommend that the approach to a crossing shouldn't slope down more than 3 inches in that span.
The state Transportation Department had put the $400,000 project to add lights and gates at the crossing on a priority list, but it hadn't received funding before the derailment.
The Mendon crossing was closed immediately after last year's crash. On Thursday, state officials announced a $50 million plan to upgrade rail crossings statewide along tracks that passenger railroads. Those projects will focus on the 47 passive crossings on three tracks that carry passenger trains although the NTSB said last year that Missouri has about 3,500 crossings like that statewide.
Amtrak spokesperson Marc Magliari said the railroad appreciates Missouri's efforts and it will keep working to improve safety. "By making improvements on routes used by Amtrak a high priority, the state of Missouri is making a commitment to grade crossing safety that is a model for other states," Magliari said.
Roughly half of all rail crossings nationwide — some 130,000 of them — are considered passive without any lights or arms that automatically come down when a train is approaching.
For years, the NTSB has recommended closing passive crossings or adding gates, bells and other safety measures whenever possible. The U.S. Transportation Department recently announced $570 million in grants to help eliminate railroad crossings in 32 states but that funding will only eliminate a few dozen crossings.
Federal statistics show that roughly 2,000 collisions occur every year at rail crossings nationwide, and last year nearly 250 deaths were recorded in car-train crashes.
The people killed in the Amtrak derailment included the dump truck driver, 54-year-old Billy Barton II, of Brookfield, Missouri, and three passengers: 58-year-old Rochelle Cook and 56-year-old Kim Holsapple, both of DeSoto, Kansas, and 82-year-old Binh Phan, of Kansas City, Missouri. The Missouri State Highway Patrol said up to 150 people also were injured.
The Southwest Chief was traveling from Los Angeles to Chicago when it hit the rear right side of the truck near Mendon. Two locomotives and eight cars derailed. The train had 12 crewmembers and 271 aboard.
Following the derailment, several lawsuits were filed against BNSF, a Fort Worth, Texas-based freight railroad that owns and maintains the tracks involved. A BNSF spokesperson said the railroad will review the NTSB report closely for suggestions to improve rail crossing safety. "At BNSF, nothing is more important than safety, including for the communities in which we operate," the railroad said in a statement. "We continue to invest in grade crossing safety by maintaining crossings, working to help develop public service campaigns and educational resources and investing in new technologies."
Amtrak and BNSF estimated that the derailment caused roughly $4 million damage to their equipment and tracks.
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Missouri Budgets $50M for Railroad Crossings in Response to Fatal 2022 Amtrak Derailment
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Missouri plans to spend $50 million on railroad crossing improvements in response to a 2022 fatal Amtrak derailment. Governor Mike Parson and state transportation officials on Thursday outlined options for how to spend about $19 million of that, including improvements at 27 crossings and closure of 17 others. The site of last year's crash is among those recommended to be shuttered. The National Transportation Safety Board said Wednesday that poor design contributed to last year's derailment, which killed four people and injured 146 others. Before the crash, area residents had expressed concerns for nearly three years about the safety of the crossing.
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Former NPR President, Kansan and KU Grad Delano Lewis Dies
WASHINGTON (NPR/KPR) — Delano Lewis, a former president of National Public Radio and former U.S. ambassador to South Africa, has died at age 84. NPR reports he died Wednesday in hospice care in Las Cruces, N.M. Del Lewis was named president of NPR in 1993, becoming the first Black person to lead the network. Lewis was born in 1938 in Arkansas City, Kansas. He graduated from Sumner High School in Kansas City, Kansas, in 1956. Lewis graduated from the University of Kansas in 1960 and earned a law degree from Washburn University in 1963.
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Chinese Company Plans to Build Manufacturing Facility in Northeast Kansas
JOHNSON COUNTY, Kan. (KCUR) — A Chinese company has unveiled plans to build a facility in northeast Kansas. The company says the new manufacturing plant will create more than 100 jobs. Cnano Technology says it will invest nearly $100 million in a new facility that will create liquid conductive paste. The paste is used in things like batteries for electric vehicles, cell phones and power tools. The announcement comes in the wake of Panasonic announcing its own plans to build a $4 billion plant to build electric batteries near De Soto. Johnson County Board of County Commissioners Chairman Mike Kelly believes the Panasonic investment has drawn other companies like Cnano. He believes the trend will continue. “I think this is one example of hopefully multiple examples of residual growth that we’ve seen in the western part of Johnson County because of that investment that Panasonic has made," he said. The new manufacturing facility will be located at New Century Commerce Center, between Gardner and Olathe.
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Bomb Threat Scare at Wichita Abortion Clinic
WICHITA, Kan. (KNS/KMUW) — The Wichita Police Department activated its bomb squad Wednesday and shut down major downtown streets after an abortion provider reported a suspicious package. Security officers at the Trust Women Clinic noticed a suspicious package outside its building and called police. Clinic employee Zach Gingrich Gaylord says the incident is not uncommon at abortion clinics across the country. "Our standard protocol is call the police and have them investigate it," he said. "Unfortunately, this is just standard operating procedure for an abortion clinic." Police confirmed that the suspicious package contained no explosives but they are opening a criminal investigation to find who placed it. The incident comes one year after Kansas voters rejected a proposal to remove abortion protections from the state constitution. No staff or patients were at the clinic when the package was found.
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Banking Executive Named President of KC Federal Reserve Bank
WASHINGTON (AP) — Jeffrey Schmid, a former banking executive, has been appointed the next president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, beginning August 21. As president of one of the 12 regional Fed banks, Schmid will participate in the eight meetings the Fed holds each year to determine the path of short-term interest rates. Schmid is joining at a fraught time, as Fed officials are considering whether to lift their key interest rate for a 12th time in the past year and a half at their next meeting in September.
Another increase would be intended to combat inflation, which has fallen sharply from last summer's four-decade high. Too many rate hikes by the Fed could push the economy into recession.
Schmid will replace Esther George, who retired in January as required by mandatory retirement rules. While he will participate in meetings, Schmid won't have a vote on interest rate decisions until 2025, because the regional Fed presidents vote on a rotating basis, usually once every three years. George was generally a hawkish president, meaning she typically favored higher interest rates to keep inflation under control. “Dovish” Fed officials, by contrast, usually support lower rates to bolster growth and hiring. Historically, the president of the Kansas City Fed has tended toward hawkish views.
Fed policymakers have signaled they may support one more increase in the central bank's key rate, which is currently at about 5.4%, its highest level in 22 years. Most economists expect the Fed will forego another increase as inflation falls, but some think it could happen at the Fed's upcoming meetings in September or November.
As president of the Kansas City Fed, Schmid will also oversee bank regulation in his district, which includes Kansas, western Missouri, Nebraska, Colorado, Oklahoma, Wyoming and northern New Mexico. Schmid is currently CEO of the Southwestern Graduate School of Banking Foundation at Southern Methodist University, where he attended a summer residence program in 1990.
“Jeff’s perspective as a native Nebraskan, his broad experience in banking, and his deep roots in our region will be an incredible asset to the Federal Reserve, both as a leader of the organization and in his role as a monetary policymaker," said María Griego-Raby, deputy chair of the Kansas City Fed's board of directors. Griego-Raby led the search committee that selected Schmid.
Bankers serve on the boards of the regional Fed banks, but they are not allowed to participate in the selection of presidents, to limit the influence of the financial industry.
Schmid was CEO of Mutual of Omaha Bank from 2007-2019, and then became CEO of Susser Bank, a family-owned company in Dallas. He began his career as a bank examiner at the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. in 1981, until becoming president of American National Bank in Omaha in 1989.
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Wichita School Staff Attend "Stop the Bleed" Training
WICHITA, Kan. (KNS/KMUW) — For some teachers across Kansas, back-to-school prep this year includes hands-on training on what to do in the event of a school shooting. Wesley Healthcare held a session for about 100 Wichita school employees as part of the nationwide “Stop the Bleed” program. Doctors and paramedics show teachers how to handle gunshot wounds by applying pressure, packing wounds and applying tourniquets. Aaron Sutton heads training for Wesley Trauma Services. He says teachers should prepare for all types of injuries. “It’s always important to remember to not think, ‘It couldn’t happen here,’ or ‘It couldn’t happen to me.’ So, having this hands-on training gives you a point of reference if you’re ever in a situation," he said. “Stop the Bleed” started after the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, in 2012.
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KU, WSU Prepare for Construction of $300 Million Medical Campus in Downtown Wichita
WICHITA, Kan. (LJW) — Construction on a $300 million medical campus in downtown Wichita should start in early 2024. That's according to officials from the University of Kansas and Wichita State University who spoke Tuesday following a vote by the Wichita City Council to approve the project’s location. The Lawrence Journal-World reports that the joint facility will provide a new home for the Wichita branch of the KU School of Medicine, while also housing WSU programs for nursing and other health care professions. On Tuesday, Wichita council members agreed to sell or lease two tracts of land for use by the project.
The new medical campus will be built on a site that currently houses the Wichita Transit Center, which is being relocated. The property is generally catty-corner from the Intrust Bank Arena in downtown Wichita. The universities estimate the center will house about 3,000 students and 200 faculty members. Wichita State President Rick Muma said the project will be one of the largest investments ever in downtown Wichita, and is expected to attract more health care companies to the area.
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Could Winter Make a Comeback in Kansas?
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (WDAF) — The Farmers’ Almanac, which provides a forecast every year, is predicting winter weather will make a comeback after a warmer cold season last year. WDAF TV reports that the Farmer's Almanac is calling for below-average temperatures and a lot of snowstorms, sleet, ice and rain for much of the Midwest. The Almanac's extended weather forecast, which is based on a mathematical and astronomical formula, predicts winter in the Great Plains will usher in plenty of cold temperatures and occasional bouts of storminess, bringing widespread rain and snow. What about a White Christmas? According to the Farmer’s Almanac, the Kansas City metro has a 10% to 25% historical probability of having one.
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Kansas Farmer Plants 80 Acres of Sunflowers as Anniversary Gift to Wife
PRATT, Kan. (KAKE) — A Kansas farmer is giving his wife something special this month to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary. Lee Wilson secretly planted 80 acres of sunflowers to surprise his wife, Renee. KAKE TV reports the farmer's land, about four miles east of Pratt, is now covered with more than 1.2 million sunflowers. The couple's wedding anniversary isn't until August 10th, but Wilson unveiled his secret crop early, once the sea of sunflowers started to bloom. Sunflower season doesn't last very long. The flowers will only stay picture perfect for about two weeks.
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Missouri Man Executed for Abduction, Killing of 6-Year-Old Girl
BONNE TERRE, Mo. (AP/KPR) — A Missouri man who abducted and beat a 6-year-old girl to death at an abandoned factory two decades ago has been executed. Authorities say 45-year-old Johnny Johnson received a lethal injection Tuesday evening at a state prison in Bonne Terre. He was convicted of killing Casey Williamson in July 2002. Authorities say Johnson led the girl to an abandoned factory where he tried to sexually assault her before fatally beating her. The U.S. Supreme Court, with three justices dissenting, rejected a late defense request for a stay. Johnson's lawyers had contended he was mentally incompetent to be executed. The inmate expressed remorse in a handwritten statement released earlier in the day.
Among those witnessing Johnson's execution were several members of the girl's family and the former prosecutor and police investigator who handled his case. The U.S. Supreme Court, with Justice Sonia Sotomayor and two other justices dissenting, rejected a late request to stay the execution. In recent appeals, Johnson's attorneys have said the inmate has had delusions about the devil using his death to bring about the end of the world.
"The Court today paves the way to execute a man with documented mental illness before any court meaningfully investigates his competency to be executed," Sotomayor and the other dissenting justices wrote in a statement when the stay was rejected. "There is no moral victory in executing someone who believes Satan is killing him to bring about the end of the world."
Former St. Louis County Prosecutor Bob McCulloch called the delusions "nonsense" and said Johnson inflicted "unspeakable horrors" upon Casey. "He's got some issues — significant issues," McCulloch said moments before witnessing the execution. But "he knew exactly what he was doing."
The girl's disappearance from her hometown of Valley Park on July 26, 2002, had set off a frantic search before her body was found. Casey's mother had been best friends in childhood with Johnson's older sister and even helped babysit him. After Johnson attended a barbecue the night before the killing, Casey's family let him sleep on a couch in the home where they also were sleeping. In the morning, Johnson lured the girl — still in her nightgown — to the abandoned glass factory, even carrying her on his shoulders on the walk to the dilapidated site, according to court documents. When he tried to sexually assault her, Casey screamed and tried to break free. He killed her with a brick and a large rock, then washed off in the nearby Meramec River. Johnson confessed that same day to the crimes, according to authorities. "It was more violent and brutal than any case I've ever seen," said former St. Louis County homicide investigator Paul Neske, who questioned Johnson at length the day of Casey's murder and witnessed his execution.
Missouri Governor Mike Parson on Monday denied a request to reduce Johnson's sentence to life in prison. The execution was the 16th in the U.S. this year, including three previously in Missouri, five in Texas, four in Florida, two in Oklahoma and one in Alabama.
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Police: Man Stabbed in Downtown Lawrence
LAWRENCE, Kan. (LJW) — Police say a man was injured in a stabbing Tuesday night in downtown Lawrence. Emergency crews responded to the intersection of Seventh and Vermont streets around 8:45 pm, where they found a person with two puncture wounds to the chest. The Lawrence Journal-World reports that one man was taken to the hospital with injuries that were not considered life-threatening. In a post on its Facebook page, the Lawrence Police Department said it believed a fight started between two men and one pulled a knife and stabbed the other. The post said that “Those involved are in police custody and known to each other,” and that the man who was stabbed “was not cooperative with first responders.”
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NBA Suspends Former Jayhawk Devonte’ Graham for Two Games Following DUI Charge
SAN ANTONIO, TX. (KSNT) – Former Kansas Jayhawk Devonte’ Graham who now plays basketball with the San Antonio Spurs, has been suspended for two games without pay. KSNT TV reports that Graham pled guilty to an impaired driving charge in North Carolina. The incident occurred in July, 2022, when Graham was pulled over for driving 63 mph in a 40-mph zone. Breath tests revealed he was above the legal limit for blood alcohol levels. His suspension will begin with the next NBA regular season.
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KU Football Player Suspended from Program After July Arrest
LAWRENCE, Kan. (KC Star) — A University of Kansas football offensive lineman has been suspended from the team. KU coach Lance Leipold announced on Tuesday that Joseph Krause has been suspended from the program. A KU Athletics spokesperson said that Krause has also been suspended from the university. Krause, who was arrested July 24th, is facing a felony threat charge following an alleged bomb threat that was called into the KU football complex. Krause is accused of “unlawfully, feloniously, and with the intent to place another in fear, or to cause the evacuation, lock down or disruption in regular, ongoing activities of any building, communicate a threat to commit violence.” The Kansas City Star reports that the Kansas football facilities were evacuated on Monday, July 24th following reports of a bomb threat. Damon Tucker, interim deputy chief of the University of Kansas Police Department, said that same evening that a “subject was identified and arrested for making the threats” and that an “all-clear” was issued for the Anderson Family Football Complex, Beatty Family Pavilion and David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium just after 8 p.m.
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Man Arrested in Georgia for Deadly Hit and Run in Western Kansas
DOUGLAS COUNTY, GA. (KSNT) — A man was arrested in Douglas County, Georgia, for leaving the scene of an accident in Kansas that resulted in the death of a 57-year-old man and his 81-year-old father. KSNT reports that 26-year-old Paulo Ivan Garcia was arrested in connection to a case that originally happened in October 2019 in Grant County, Kansas. Garcia was identified as the driver of a semi-truck that failed to yield the right of way to the father-son duo. Garcia then stole a pickup truck from a witness and fled the scene. According to the U.S. Marshals Office, the pickup truck was later found abandoned. Garcia was also wanted for a federal supervised release violation from Wichita.
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Royals on a Roll with 5th Straight Win
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Cole Ragans pitched out of trouble for six spotless innings and the Kansas City Royals beat the New York Mets 4-0 for their fifth consecutive victory, extending their longest winning streak in more than two years. Michael Massey hit a two-run double off rookie Kodai Senga in the first. Drew Waters homered late and threw out a runner at the plate from right field. Called up from the minors earlier in the day, Ragans struck out eight in his first win with the Royals. The left-hander allowed seven hits and walked one in his second start for Kansas City since being acquired June 30 from Texas. Maikel Garcia had three singles as Kansas City extended its best winning streak since taking six straight games in July 2021. The series finale is today (THUR).
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KU Hires Longtime Basketball Coach Doc Sadler as Analyst for the Jayhawks
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — Longtime college basketball coach Doc Sadler, who spent last year as a special advisor at Oklahoma, was hired Wednesday as an analyst at the University of Kansas, where he served as the director of basketball operations a decade ago. Sadler was a successful head coach in his own right, particularly at UTEP, which he led to the NCAA Tournament in 2005. That success earned him the top job at Nebraska, where he spent six seasons before he was fired in 2012. Sadler was hired by Jayhawks coach Bill Self for the following season, then departed again for an assistant job at Iowa State. He proceeded to spend five seasons leading Southern Miss before returning to the Huskers as an assistant coach. The 63-year-old Sadler also has coached at Arkansas, Lamar, Houston, Chicago State, Arkansas-Fort Smith, Texas Tech and Arizona State during a well-traveled 40-plus-year career. He got his start in college basketball with the Razorbacks as a student manager under Hall of Fame coach Eddie Sutton.
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Chiefs and QB Patrick Mahomes Will Be Leaning on Untested Wide Receivers
ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (AP) — The Kansas City Chiefs allowed wide receivers JuJu Smith-Schuster and Mecole Hardman to walk away in free agency, and in their place they signed a couple of relative unknowns while taking a gamble on an injury-prone talent and unproven draft pick. The expectation is that Patrick Mahomes can make it work, just as he has so many years before, but is that finally asking too much of the league’s MVP? The answer will play out this season as the Chiefs try to defend their Super Bowl. Kadarius Toney is already battling another injury, but players such as rookie Rashee Rice and second-year pro Justyn Ross have turned heads in training camp, and that is a reason for optimism.
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This summary of area news is curated by KPR news staffers, including J. Schafer, Laura Lorson, Tom Parkinson and Kaye McIntyre. Our headlines are generally posted by 10 amweekdays and updated throughout the day. These ad-free headlines are made possible by KPR members. Become one today. You can also follow KPR News on Twitter.