Lawmakers Sprang Into Action After Train Crash

At least 7 GOP doctors provided assistance
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Feb 1, 2018 12:01 AM CST
Lawmakers Sprang Into Action After Train Crash
Emergency personnel work at the scene of a train crash involving a garbage truck in Crozet, Va., on Wednesday, Jan. 31, 2018.   (Zack Wajsgrasu/The Daily Progress via AP)

Republican members of Congress with medical experience put their skills to work after a train carrying dozens of them crashed into a garbage truck in rural Virginia, killing one person in the truck and injuring others. The congressmen, family members, and staff were on their way to a strategy retreat at a West Virginia resort when the collision occurred Wednesday morning in Crozet, about 125 miles southwest of Washington. Florida Rep. Neal Dunn, a former Army surgeon, says he and other lawmakers who are doctors joined other passengers who are nurses or paramedics and jumped out with the basic medical gear they had. They broke into three teams to help the injured people in the truck, he says.

"The first gentleman was somebody who had really, really, really devastating injuries. We did try to resuscitate, but ultimately you had to realize it wasn't possible," Dunn says. He says another man in the truck was critically injured and a third was seriously hurt. Rep. Phil Roe, a doctor from Tennessee, says the truck driver was killed instantly. Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana and his wife, both doctors, were among those who came to the rescue, the AP reports. He says he helped a man from the truck who was badly injured. Other doctor-lawmakers who assisted included Reps. Michael Burgess of Texas, Phil Roe of Tennessee, Larry Bucshon of Indiana, and Roger Marshall of Kansas. Amtrak says two crew members and three passengers were taken to a hospital with minor injuries.

(More train crash stories.)

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