Emergency personnel inspect the lead engine of an Amtrak train that was carrying multiple Republican lawmakers that crashed into a garbage truck  in Crozet, Va., on Wednesday, Jan. 31, 2018.  A chartered train carrying dozens of GOP lawmakers to a Republican policy retreat in West Virginia struck a garbage truck in a rural Virginia town Wednesday.
Emergency personnel inspect the lead engine of an Amtrak train that was carrying multiple Republican lawmakers that crashed into a garbage truck in Crozet, Va., on Wednesday, Jan. 31, 2018. A chartered train carrying dozens of GOP lawmakers to a Republican policy retreat in West Virginia struck a garbage truck in a rural Virginia town Wednesday. The Daily Progress via AP Zack Wajsgras
Emergency personnel inspect the lead engine of an Amtrak train that was carrying multiple Republican lawmakers that crashed into a garbage truck in Crozet, Va., on Wednesday, Jan. 31, 2018. A chartered train carrying dozens of GOP lawmakers to a Republican policy retreat in West Virginia struck a garbage truck in a rural Virginia town Wednesday. The Daily Progress via AP Zack Wajsgras

Latest: Drivers say railroad crossing seemed to malfunction

February 01, 2018 12:52 PM

The Latest on the crash of a train carrying Republican members of Congress (all times local):

12:15 p.m.

Drivers who regularly pass over a Virginia railroad crossing where a train carrying Republican lawmakers slammed into a garbage truck say the crossing arms appeared to be malfunctioning the day before the deadly crash.

Jane Rogers told The Associated Press on Thursday that she crosses the intersection almost every day. She says she got stuck there Tuesday because the arms were lowered even though no train was coming.

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Crozet resident Gene Locke told AP he had the same problem Tuesday.

A 28-year-old passenger on the truck was killed Wednesday, and at least two other people in the truck were reported seriously hurt. No serious injuries were reported aboard the chartered Amtrak train.

Albemarle County Board of Supervisors chairwoman Ann Mallek says she has not had anyone reach out to her in 10 years about the crossing. But she says it's tricky to drive across because the road crosses the track at an incline and visibility is poor.

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11:20 a.m.

The man who was killed when a train carrying Republican congressmen struck a garbage truck in rural Virginia was the father of a 1-year-old boy and was well-liked by his co-workers and customers.

Christopher Foley was an employee of Time Disposal. He was killed Wednesday when an Amtrak train taking the GOP lawmakers to a retreat in West Virginia slammed into the trash truck in Crozet, Virginia.

Foley's co-workers called him "a friend and a brother." By late Thursday morning, a GoFundMe page set up by co-workers to help Foley's family listed more than $7,000 in contributions, some from people who said the 28-year-old Foley collected their trash.

Roger Lehr is an 82-year-old retired professor. He says Foley and his co-workers had picked up his trash about an hour before the crash. He said Foley always rode on the back of the truck. He said the crew did a great job and would sometimes run up his driveway to get his trash if he had forgotten to put it out in time.

Of the six people injured in the crash, four people have been discharged from UVA Medical Center, one patient remains in critical condition and another is in fair condition.

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11 p.m.

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 lawmakers were on their way to a strategy retreat in the countryside when the collision occurred about 11:20 a.m. Wednesday in Crozet, about 125 miles (200 kilometers) southwest of Washington.

No serious injuries were reported aboard the chartered Amtrak train, which set out from the nation's capital with lawmakers, family members and staff for the luxury Greenbrier resort in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia. At least two other people in the truck were reported seriously hurt.