Derailment

On Monday morning there was tragic accident in nearby DuPont that derailed a train going from Seattle to Portland Oregon. It was the first running of the train going on tracks next to Interstate 5. Previous the trains ran next to the water. In fact I can hear the trains most nights from where I live.

It has been reported that seven people on board of the train were killed and around one hundred injured. About seventy-five of the injured were sent to six of the hospitals in the area. There was one retired gentlemen from my town of Gig Harbor decided to go on this first run anticipating return back yesterday as well. He was actually on one of the local television stations being interviewed before the train left Tacoma.

In even a more personal manner my cousin Jennifer has taken the train often between Seattle and Portland. She lived most of her life in Seattle however now lives in Astoria, Oregon however her job takes her to Seattle so she takes the train. In fact on Sunday she took the old route to Seattle. As of right now the trains are taking the old route. The investigation is ongoing right now however the cause of the derailment could be that the train was going too fast.

Monday afternoon after going through my physical therapy I got on Highway 16 that goes along side of Gig Harbor toward Bremerton. The traffic was unusually heavy for the time of the day. I thought it could be that there are those who are on vacation. When I got home I found out those who were heading south toward Olympia Washington or further were being routed through highway 16 since Interstate 5 had been closed from DuPont and there isn’t another way to get there without going onto Highway 101 but to get there has to use highway 16. Many of the side streets in Gig Harbor were being used by locals who normally take highway 16 so they were heavy as well.

Beyond the tragic of the derailment we never know what a day will bring for all of us. We have to be willing to go with the flow or in this case may have to stay home. I not only pray for those who lost family members in this accident but those are injured as well. I hope never again that traffic will have to be routed through highway 16. May you have peace beyond all understanding today. Amen!