Local has close call with Amtrak train hit by semi in Nevada

“It was crazy. The flames were huge…”

A Crested Butte woman was aboard the Amtrak train that had a deadly run-in with a semi-truck on Friday, June 24 in the Nevada desert. Nineteen-year-old Hailey Loeffler was one train car away from the impact point that resulted in six people being killed when a semi plowed into the California Zephyr at a highway crossing 70 miles east of Reno.

“It was pretty crazy,” recounted Loeffler. “This was my first train ride ever and I’d say it was off to a rocky start. I was the next car back from where the truck hit the train.”
Hailey was taking the train to freshman orientation at Humboldt University in northern California.
“I was reading my book when I heard the conductor say ‘Oh sh*t.’ Then I felt a big crash and got jostled and lurched around,” Loeffler said. “I looked out the window and all I could see was flames. Big, red hot flames.”
According to officials, a fire that erupted following the deadly train accident gutted two rail cars. There were 204 passengers and 14 crewmembers aboard the train that was headed to Emeryville, Calif.
The semi-truck, which was leading a three-truck convoy, slid about 320 feet before plowing into the crossing gates and into the side of the train. It is unknown why the driver failed to stop before the crossing. The railroad crossing gates were down and the lights were operational. The collision was on a portion of tracks that cross U.S. 95 about three miles south of I-80.
“I saw a huge hole in the train car ahead of me,” Loeffler remembered. “The train attendants said everything would be fine but I wanted out. I wanted off that train after seeing the hole and the flames. I went to get my bags but they said to just leave them and we were directed through several cars to the back of the train to get evacuated. Once I got off the train I saw really huge flames where the truck had hit the train. They were coming out hot. It was crazy.”
Loeffler said the whole front of the semi was “just gone. This was my first train experience and I have to say it can’t get any worse.”
The passengers were directed away from the train into the desert, which Loeffler said was “extremely hot.” Then, “The Flight for Life helicopters came in and took away the people that were critically injured. Drivers of campers on the nearby highway came to the scene and opened them up to give us some shade and relief from the heat. Eventually, some school buses were brought in and we were shuttled to the nearby town of Fallon.”
Loeffler phoned her mom in Crested Butte to let her know the situation. Her mom called a shuttle service in Reno to come and get her. Hailey, along with five other passengers, got a ride to the Bay Area and from there she made it to college orientation.
“All of my stuff got burnt,” she said. “My computer, my iPod, my clothes. You hear about stuff like this happening on the news but you don’t ever think you’ll be part of it. I was shocked. To see the flames that were so huge was wild. It makes you feel really good to be alive.”
Loeffler finished up orientation and was heading back to Crested Butte this week. She will be taking a plane back to Colorado.