‘MATTER OF TIME’

Missouri Farmer Raised the Alarm About Dangerous Rail Crossing Weeks Before Amtrak Crash

Mike Spencer shared a video on Facebook about the crossing where three died on Monday.

A local farmer spoke out weeks ago about the dangers of a Missouri railroad crossing where three people were killed on Monday after an Amtrak train smashed into a dump truck and derailed. Mike Spencer, 64, uploaded a video to Facebook on June 11 showing the uncontrolled crossing in Mendon, commenting that he had tried for “several years” to get the BNSF railroad to install signal lights, build the road up, “or just [cut] the brush back.” “They knew it was unsafe,” Spencer told the Kansas City Star, adding that he thought the “tragedy” on Monday could have been prevented. “I was certain that this was going to happen,” Spencer said of the fatal collision. “It was just a matter of time.”