Republican members of Congress travelling to an annual retreat at the Greenbrier resort in West Virginia on Wednesday morning were involved in a train wreck with a garbage truck, a House Republican aide told THE WEEKLY STANDARD.
She said the members of Congress who were on the train appeared to be OK after the crash, but one person who was in the truck is dead, and two other passengers appear to have sustained potentially serious injuries.
Sen. Jeff Flake, who helped deliver first aid to the passengers, told the Washington Post’s Ed O’Keefe there was one fatality. Flake helped carry one of the injured passengers to an ambulance, per O’Keefe.
Another Republican aide told TWS that Reps. Brad Wenstrup, Michael Burgess, Phil Roe, and Sen. Bill Cassidy—all medical professionals—were outside the train tending to people who were in the truck, among others.
“The train carrying GOP members to our retreat had a collision, but Rebecca and I are both okay. Security and doctors on board are helping secure the scene and treat injuries,” Alabama Republican Bradley Byrne tweeted.
One lawmaker passed on a photo of the damage to Frank Thorp of NBC:
Lawmaker on the train to the GOP retreat passes on this picture of the garbage truck that their train hit: pic.twitter.com/sYUmmdH60Q
— Frank Thorp V (@frankthorp) January 31, 2018
The aide told TWS the crash happened at around 11:18 a.m.
The situation is developing.
