Family settles case after deadly Amtrak derailment in Missouri
The family of a dump truck driver killed in a 2022 Amtrak crash in Chariton County has reached a confidential settlement with BNSF Railway Co., according to court documents.
Chariton County Circuit Court Judge Terry Tachannen approved the settlement last month between Erin Barton, the widow of Billy Barton II, and BNSF Railway.
Tachannen found the settlement to be fair and reasonable. The proceeds of the settlement will go to Erin Barton and five adult children, Alyssa Barton, Billy Barton III, Breanne Liebhart, Autumn Barton and Evanne Barton.
Erin Barton had filed the wrongful death lawsuit days after her husband was killed when an Amtrak train collided with his dump truck on June 27, 2022, in Mendon, about 115 miles northeast of Kansas City. The crash and subsequent derailment killed four and injured 146.
Barton had sued BNSF, Chariton County, and Mariano Rodriguez, a BNSF roadmaster who managed the train tracks owned by BNSF Railway.
Barton had accused Rodriguez and the county of negligence. Barton dismissed her claims against Chariton County in December 2022 and against Rodriguez in February.
The crossing where the collision happened — known as Porche crossing — had impaired visibility and did not allow drivers approaching it to see an oncoming train, the lawsuit said. The area also allegedly had brush, trees and other vegetation that blocked the view.
The Star found that one month before the crash, the county commission had alerted the state that overgrown brush was obstructing drivers’ views.
The intersection did not have lights, bells or arms to warn drivers of an approaching train, a recommendation the National Transportation Board has encouraged since 1998.
The NTSB’s final investigative report, released in August 2023, confirmed that flaws at the railroad crossing contributed to the Amtrak derailment.
The gravel road leading up to the crossing near Mendon was too steep, according to the NTSB report. The sharp incline was one of the contributing factors of the June 27 derailment, it said.
The probable cause of the derailment, the NTSB said, was that the truck driver, for unknown reasons, proceeded into the crossing without stopping, despite the presence of a stop sign and an approaching train.
Trucks couldn’t stop, or they wouldn’t be able to make it over the steep incline, said residents of the area, who had complained about the crossing for years.
See The Star’s months-long investigation into U.S. railroads: Collision course: How American rail companies’ pursuit of profit put lives in danger?
This story was originally published April 7, 2025 at 4:25 PM.
