WASHINGTON 鈥� Jason Scott, of New York, says he鈥檚 taken the Amtrak train from New York to Philadelphia four or five times, and that he always gets in the 鈥渓ast car, last seat.鈥�
鈥淚t paid off,鈥� on Tuesday night, he says.
When Amtrak Train 188 derailed in Philadelphia, Scott was thrown from his seat and suffered pain in his head, right arm and lower back.
The train had just left the 30th Street Station, Scott says, and he had just started to get comfortable for the trip, endeavoring to take off his shoes. He had one off, and the conductor had just scanned his ticket, 鈥渁nd I don鈥檛 think he made it to the back of the car.鈥�
He still had only one shoe on when he talked with WTOP Wednesday morning.
鈥淲e crossed the river, [hit] the left curve, and everything just went wacky. 鈥� Lights went out; people were screaming.鈥�
He says that the experience 鈥渇elt like a movie,鈥� and that passengers were busy helping each other out. He didn鈥檛 start taking pictures until he was clear of the wreckage, and remembers thinking, 鈥淲ho would believe this?鈥�
He says that while it was happening, he didn鈥檛 have time to be afraid. It wasn鈥檛 until he saw it on the news in the hospital that he thought, 鈥淚 was in that? I walked away from that? That鈥檚 bananas.鈥�
He was back at the 30th Street Station, expressing sympathy to the families of those killed and best wishes to those injured, and getting ready to catch a bus back home.
鈥淚鈥檓 done,鈥� he said. 鈥淭his is crazy.鈥�
WTOP’s Kristi King contributed to this report.
