The former U.S. Congressman who led the repeal of the military’s ban on openly gay and lesbian servicemembers was aboard a trail that derailed in Philadelphia Tuesday night.
Former Congressman Patrick Murphy was one of about 250 passengers on Amtrak Train #188 heading from Washington, D.C., to New York City that crashed in Port Richmond around 9:30 p.m. Tuesday. Murphy took to social media to report the incident and said on Twitter that he was not injured. Murphy said U.S. Sen. Tom Carper (Del.) had also been onboard but disembarked shortly before the accident.
However, at least six people were killed and nearly 150 injuries were reported.
In an interview with WPVI, Murphy said he was heading to Trenton to return to his home in Bucks County. He was on the dining car when he said he heard what “sounded like a bang” and then his car wobbled several times and careened to the right.
Murphy said a passenger near him was knocked unconscious and Murphy shook him to wake him.
“He got up and we started helping other people,” Murphy said. “There was a lot of mayhem; people were pretty banged up.”