NTSB: Truck hit by GOP train was on tracks after warning

CROZET, Va. – Witnesses to a collision between a train carrying Republican congressmen and a garbage truck in rural Virginia have told investigators the truck entered the railroad crossing after safety gates came down.

A preliminary report on the Jan. 31 crash was issued Wednesday by the National Transportation Safety Board. The probable cause of the accident hasn’t yet been determined.

One trash company employee was killed, while the truck driver, another employee and several others were injured.

The report said data taken from the camera on the Amtrak train – carrying dozens of Republic lawmakers to an annual strategy retreat in West Virginia – showed that as the crossing came into view, the gates were down and the trash truck was on the crossing.