RENO, Nev. (AP) — Lawyers defending a Nevada trucking firm being sued for negligence in a fiery 2011 crash with an Amtrak train told jurors Tuesday that Union Pacific Railroad officials manipulated or destroyed evidence that would have proved a malfunctioning crossing gate and signal lights were responsible for the deaths of the truck driver and five people on board the California Zephyr.

But an attorney representing Amtrak in its lawsuit seeking $11 million from John Davis Trucking said in his opening statement that evidence presented during the six-week federal trial will show the truck driver, Larry Valli, ignored flashing lights, a functioning gate and repeated whistle blasts before slamming into the train at a rural highway crossing 70 miles east of Reno.