By Matt Sepic, KWMU
St. Louis – An Amtrak passenger train traveling from Chicago to St. Louis hit a tractor trailer around 11:15 a.m. Monday north of Alton near Brighton, Illinois.
Amtrak spokesman Marc Magliari said nine people on the train, including a crew member, suffered non-life threatening injuries. The other passengers were taken to St. Louis by bus.
Magliari said there was no way for the train to avoid hitting the truck.
"It would be as if someone stepped in front of you on I-70 and stopped," Magliari said. "You cannot always avoid them. In this case the train cannot swerve to avoid something."
Magliari said the collision knocked the locomotive and four cars off the tracks, but they remained upright and coupled.
The Macoupin County Sheriff and Illinois State Police are investigating.