March 8 (UPI) -- Four people died at least 34 were injured in a collision between a tour bus and a freight train in downtown Biloxi, Miss., police said.
The crash occurred Monday afternoon. Biloxi Police Chief John Miller confirmed the deaths of three people; the fourth person died in a city hospital, Harrison Country Coroner Gary Hargrove confirmed. Identities of the victims were not released.
The charter bus trip to Mississippi's coast began in Austin, Texas. The group, from a senior center, was on a seven-day excursion and had just left a casino to visit another casino when the bus became stuck on railroad tracks at Biloxi's Main street crossing.
A CSX Transportation freight train struck the bus and dragged it about 300 feet down the track, Biloxi city spokesman Vincent Creel said. Approximately 50 people were aboard the bus.
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Why the bus was on the tracks, and whether it had an engine problem, was unclear, Miller said. He added that fire personnel had a training drill last week involving a train emergency, which proved vital in extricating passengers from the bus.
A witness told the Biloxi Sun-Herald he saw passengers leaving the stalled bus before it was struck by the train.
Jim DeLaCruz, who was aboard the bus, told the Sun-Herald, "We were trying to get off ourselves. The bus tried to clear the tracks and got stuck right in the middle and it couldn't budge, and the train just kept coming and kept coming."
Thirty-five bus passengers were hospitalized, at least five of whom were listed in critical condition. Creel said the bus driver was alert and speaking with medical personnel after the crash.
Two months ago a train struck a delivery truck stuck on the tracks at the same intersection, WLOX-TV, Biloxi, reported.
