Wounded US military veterans leaped for their lives just before a freight train struck their parade in rural Texas, killing four veterans and injuring 16.
About two dozen veterans and their spouses had been sitting on the parade float, set up on a flatbed truck decorated with American flags. Many seemed to panic as the train's horn blared, said Patricia Howle, who was waiting in her car at a nearby traffic light.
'I was on the phone, and I just started screaming,' she told The Associated Press after Thursday afternoon's crash.
Police said the first truck with veterans safely crossed the tracks, but the second truck's trailer was still on the crossing as the Union Pacific locomotive approached.
The US marked Veterans Day earlier this week, and the parade was part of an event to honour wounded veterans.
The scene just after the crash reminded Sudip Bose, a doctor and front-line physician in Iraq who had been volunteering at the parade, of war.
Police on Friday confirmed that all four of the dead were veterans. Midland city police spokesman Ryan Stout said 37-year-old Sgt Maj Gary Stouffer and 47-year-old Sgt Maj Lawrence Boivin were pronounced dead at the scene and 34-year-old Army Sgt Joshua Michael and 43-year-old Army Sgt Maj William Lubbers were pronounced dead at a hospital.
Six people remained hospitalised on Friday, including one in critical condition. Ten others were treated and released.
The chairwoman of the National Transportation Safety Board, Deborah Hersman, said on Friday on NBC that the train was equipped with a forward-facing camera whose footage could help in the investigation.
'That will give us some video images if it survived the crash, and we can download it, as well as recorders on the train,' Hersman said. 'We're going to be looking at the signals ... and making sure that the gates and lights were coming down.'
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