Northwestern R-1 High School has served as a key location in the response to Monday’s deadly Amtrak train derailment and crash.Injured and uninjured passengers were brought to the school in Mendon.Close to 300 people were on board the Amtrak train, dwarfing Mendon’s population of 171. But the town responded quickly with the help of neighboring communities and the high school.”It didn’t surprise me. Whenever we got the call that our school district needed to help, I knew that everybody would respond,” said school superintendent Eric Hoyt.Four people died and another 150 people were taken to area hospitals with injuries ranging from minor to severe.Trauma surgeon Dr. Jeffrey Coughenour helped treat 18 patients taken to MU Health Care in Columbia. He made a point of complimenting the first responders who take care of the injured people.”For the call to come into a rural area, a once-in-a-career kind of event, they did a remarkable job,” Coughenour said.Northwestern School served as an office and news conference site for investigators.The gym will soon be used to put passengers’ luggage and other personal effects on tables for them to recover.Most importantly, when the injured and uninjured passengers needed help on Monday, the community and the Northwestern Eagles soared.”We had immediate donations of food, water, anything we could ever want to keep the passengers comfortable,” Hoyt said.It was unclear how long the school will need to be used following the tragedy. The superintendent said it will be available for as long as necessary.
Northwestern R-1 High School has served as a key location in the response to Monday’s deadly Amtrak train derailment and crash.
Injured and uninjured passengers were brought to the school in Mendon.
Close to 300 people were on board the Amtrak train, dwarfing Mendon’s population of 171. But the town responded quickly with the help of neighboring communities and the high school.
“It didn’t surprise me. Whenever we got the call that our school district needed to help, I knew that everybody would respond,” said school superintendent Eric Hoyt.
Four people died and another 150 people were taken to area hospitals with injuries ranging from minor to severe.
Trauma surgeon Dr. Jeffrey Coughenour helped treat 18 patients taken to MU Health Care in Columbia. He made a point of complimenting the first responders who take care of the injured people.
“For the call to come into a rural area, a once-in-a-career kind of event, they did a remarkable job,” Coughenour said.
Northwestern School served as an office and news conference site for investigators.
The gym will soon be used to put passengers’ luggage and other personal effects on tables for them to recover.
Most importantly, when the injured and uninjured passengers needed help on Monday, the community and the Northwestern Eagles soared.
“We had immediate donations of food, water, anything we could ever want to keep the passengers comfortable,” Hoyt said.
It was unclear how long the school will need to be used following the tragedy. The superintendent said it will be available for as long as necessary.
