Lawsuit filed in Amtrak train crash

CHICAGO, Dec. 3 (UPI) -- A Michigan man filed a lawsuit Monday against Amtrak and Norfolk Southern Freight Co. in a crash that injured dozens of Chicago-bound passengers.

The suit was filed on behalf of John N. Hamstra Sr., 63, who was hospitalized with a broken shoulder and a concussion after he and his family were injured aboard the Amtrak train.

The accident occurred Friday shortly before noon. Amtrak's Pere Marquette traveling from Grand Rapids, Mich., slammed into the rear of the stopped freight train. The Amtrak engine climbed atop the last car of the freight but the Amtrak carriages remained upright and on the tracks.

Hamstra, his wife, Marcia, 63, their daughter-in-law, Bridgett, and their three young grandchildren ages 6, 5, and 9 months, were all treated and released from Mount Sinai Hospital.

The lawsuit alleges both rail companies were negligent in causing the crash just minutes from downtown's Union Station.

"We will get to the bottom of what happened here on behalf of the Hamstra family," attorney Thomas Prindable said. "The accident was a tragedy and it is fortunate that no one was killed given the speed of the trains."