Walden was on train that hit truck in fatal crash

An Amtrak train carrying members of Congress, including Rep. Greg Walden, R-Ore., hit a truck in Virginia late Wednesday morning, killing one person in the truck.

Walden told NewsChannel 21 it was quite the shock.

“You know, there was no braking prior to the collision, at least that we felt. There was no warning, there was no braking, it was just impact. It was a pretty good jolt,” Walden said.

Dozens of House and Senate Republicans were also on the train, on its way from Washington, D.C., to a legislative retreat in West Virginia.

Just outside Charlottesville, in Crozet, Virginia, the train hit a truck that was on the tracks. A passenger on the truck was killed and the driver had serious injuries. Five people on the train were also taken to the hospital with minor injuries.

“My first thought was something had broken or we had hit something. But you know there was no blast or anything like that. We hit a garbage truck and your thoughts go immediately to, ‘Who was on that truck?'” Walden said.

Walden said he was not injured. After the crash, he and the other lawmakers were loaded on buses and taken to their retreat in Virginia.

“I mean, it’s just one of those things you don’t expect to happen when you get up in the morning, and you realize how fleeting life can be,” Walden said.

President Trump also commented on the crash in a press conference Wednesday, confirming he still is planning to attend the GOP retreat.

“I’ll be going to West Virginia — great state, I’ll be going there. I’ll be going tomorrow, and we’ll be together, but it was a pretty rough hit. That’s what they all tell me.” he said.

“We don’t have a full understanding yet of what happened,” Trump said, “but it was a train hitting a truck, going at a pretty good speed, and we’ll have a full report as to what it looks like. The driver of the truck was killed, and it’s very sad to see that.”The President is scheduled to speak at the Republican retreat on Thursday. Vice President Mike Pence, who was not on the train, will speak at the retreat Wednesday.

An investigation team from the National Transportation Safety Board is looking into the cause of the crash.