A Washington reporter inadvertently captured a close brush with death when he recorded a video clip aboard an Amtrak train this week.
As the New York Post reported, KING reporter Alex Rozier was filming for a story on the new rail line between Seattle and Portland, Oregon. He tweeted that the train car he was riding in was one of the cars that derailed in a deadly crash just 10 minutes after he exited.
NEW: I shot this video on board the #Amtrak501 in the 6 o clock hour this morning. We got off after shooting the video. This specific car on the train derailed minutes after we shot this video. pic.twitter.com/3g25PvMAMe
— Alex Rozier (@AlexRozierK5) December 18, 2017
“I shot this video on board the #Amtrak501 in the 6 o clock hour this morning,” he wrote, noting that he and the NBC affiliate’s crew got off the train after finishing the video segment.
“This specific car on the train derailed minutes after we shot this video,” he added.
In another tweet, Rozier explained that in the “7 o clock hour that same train derailed,” adding that he “got off 10 minutes before the crash.
While he made it off of the doomed car in time, a number of passengers who were riding along with him were not so lucky.
After interviewing one such passenger prior to the crash for the now-haunting video, Rozier visited an area hospital to speak to him again as he faced treatment for injuries including a broken back.
At 7 am I interviewed Rudy live on @KING5Seattle while he was on board #Amtrak501. At 7 pm we interviewed him in the hospital after the train derailed. He has a broken back, but he will be ok. I am so thankful to hear he’s alive. Hear his story tomorrow morning on KING. pic.twitter.com/3DPG1RSa6Q
— Alex Rozier (@AlexRozierK5) December 19, 2017
An investigation into the cause and circumstances surrounding the derailment are ongoing. Officials announced the train was traveling at 80 mph shortly before the crash — more than twice the posted limit.
As ABC News reported, three individuals were killed and others injured aboard the train and on the highway below when train cars fell from an overpass onto the road.
[Featured image: Alex Rozier/Video screenshot, Associated Press]