A local Washington state reporter shot video from inside the Amtrak train before it derailed
- A local reporter in Washington state managed to capture video aboard the Amtrak 501 train, around 10 minutes before it derailed, killing at least six people Monday morning.
- The cause of the crash is under investigation.
A local reporter for local NBC affiliate KING 5 News captured video footage aboard the Amtrak train that derailed in DuPont, Washington, on Monday.
"I shot this video on board the #Amtrak501 in the 6 o clock hour this morning," Alex Rozier said on Twitter. "We got off after shooting the video. This specific car on the train derailed minutes after we shot this video."
"In the 7 o clock hour that same train derailed, Rozier continued. "We got off 10 minutes before the crash."
In the video, Rozier is seen on the train that eventually derailed at around 7:40 a.m., killing at least three people and sending at least 100 people to the hospital, according to the Associated Press.
In another video, Rozier pans a camera to Jim, a photographer, and asks, "What do you think?"
Jim replies: "Smooth ride."
"TV news crews often get pulled from one story to go to the next breaker. This time it may have saved @AlexRozierK5 and @King5unit9's lives," tweeted KING 5 News reporter Elisa Hahn.
The train was making its first trip on a new route from Seattle in 6:00 a.m. to Portland about 3 1/2 hours later, the Associated Press said. It was the first time the public used a new bypass built on an existing rail line along the highway from Tacoma, Washington to DuPont, near where the train derailed.
Seventy-seven passengers and seven crew members were aboard when it derailed, pulling 13 cars from the tracks. National Transportation Safety Board investigators were looking at the scene to determine the cause.