The patrol, however, is not answering additional questions on the matter, according to its spokesperson, Lieutenant Jeff Gordon in Raleigh, as it is still under investigation.

“Any ccomments at this point would be premature on my part,” Gordon said in response to a list of 10 questions submitted by rrspin.com via email last week. “Once the collision investigation is completed then I would be more than happy to discuss this case in more depth.”

The preliminary report shows a total of 58 people on the train were injured — passengers from as nearby as Rocky Mount to as far north as Connecticut.

The report, prepared by Trooper S. Richardson, shows Amtrak incurred $100,000 in estimated damages while the trailer and the equipment it carried, which was struck by the train, sustained an estimated $50,000 in damages.

Richardson's report notes that around 12:20 p.m. a tractor-trailer driven by John Devin Black of Claremont and owned by Guy M. Turner Incorporated out of Greensboro was traveling east on Highway 125 while the train was headed north on the tracks as Black was attempting to make a left turn onto Highway 301.

Black was unable to negotiate the turn and the train struck the vehicle at the railroad crossing.

The tractor portion of the rig was in the roadway while the trailer portion, which was struck, came to rest on the left shoulder of Highway 125. The train's engine and one car derailed.

Gordon, in the evening hours following the collision, said the rig was being escorted by troopers because of its size.

It had been under escort since departing Johnston County when the driver approached the intersection of Highway 903 and Highway 301.

The trucker was traveling under an approved Department of Transportation permit because of the oversize load of the building, which Gordon described as a mobile home-like unit containing an electrical grid destined for New Jersey.

The rig came to the intersection in Halifax and was going to turn left onto Highway 301, but could not make the turn without clipping a utility pole.

Black then attempted to back up to give the rig a wider swath to successfully get on Highway 301 to continue the state Highway Patrol escort to the Virginia line.

At the same time the Amtrak train that had left Charlotte destined for New York City was coming around the bend.

The locomotive struck the trailer. The locomotive derailed as was the baggage car behind it, Gordon said. A third car behind the baggage car was partially derailed.

The train was carrying 212 passengers.

The state Highway Patrol said in a statement released the day following the collision no criminal charges were going to be filed in the matter.

As of this report, no ciivil actions have been filed with the Halifax County Clerk of Courts office in Halifax.