Truck crashes into California Zephyr, killing 6

The preliminary death count remained at six Monday as investigators continued to examine the wreckage left when a highway tractor-trailer rig crashed into a double-deck car of Amtrak’s westbound California Zephyr at a grade crossing near Fallon, Nev., 70 miles east of Reno, on Friday.

An Amtrak conductor and the truck driver were among the fatalities. Anassistant conductor was injured. The United Transportation Union said the conductor was one of its members, 68-year-old Laurertte Lee of South LakeTahoe, Calif. The four other dead were believed to have been trapped in two burning Zephyr cars.

The trucking publication FleetOwner commented: “Make no mistake, along with the lives lost and the injuries caused by the wreck, the crash is a sharp stick in the eye of all those in trucking and government alike who have been very publicly working across numerous fronts this year to increase commercial-vehicle (CV) safety performance.”