On March 15, 1999, Amtrak's southbound City of New Orleans passenger train collided with a semi-trailer truck in the village of Bourbonnais, Illinois, United States. Most of the train derailed, killing eleven people. A National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigation into the accident attributed the cause to the truck driver trying to beat the train across a grade crossing. The NTSB's recommendations from the accident included increased enforcement of grade crossing signals, the installation of train event recorders at all new or improved grade crossings, and procedures to provide emergency responders with accurate lists of all crew members and passengers aboard trains. The city of Bourbonnais erected a memorial near the site to commemorate those killed in the accident. Accident At approximately 9:47 pm Central (local) time on March 15, 1999, Amtrak's City of New Orleans number 59 was operating southbound through Bourbonnais, Illinois, on tracks owned by the Illinois Central Railroad, which folded into the Canadian National Railway in July of that year. It was pulled by two GE P40DC locomotives, #807 leading and #829 trailing. 207 passengers and 21 crew members were on board at the time of the accident. While operating through Bourbonnais, the train's engineer observed a semi-trailer truck loaded with steel slowly crossing the tracks at a grade crossing. When the engineer realized the truck was not going to clear the tracks in time, he engaged the train's emergency brake. However, the train was traveling at and was unable to stop in time. Both of the train's locomotives and eleven of the train's fourteen passenger cars derailed; the derailed cars struck freight cars on an adjacent siding. Eleven people aboard the train were killed and another 121 were transported to nearby hospitals with serious injuries. The driver of the semi-truck, John R. Stokes, was also injured. The crash also resulted in over US$14 million in damage. Investigations NTSB investigation The NTSB attributed the cause of the wreck to Stokes's reaction to the grade crossing signals. Thinking he could beat the train across the tracks, Stokes chose to proceed onto the tracks in front of the train. Stokes reported that the crossing signal did not activate until his vehicle was "right on top of the track," but he also stated that he did not want to brake quickly to avoid a shifting load that could hit the back of the truck's cab. Witnesses stated that the