A scenic fall tour turned into a nightmare ride for passengers in northwest Arkansas on Thursday after a freight train and a passenger train collision left dozens injured . The six crew members and 38 passengers aboard were all injured , according to the Arkansas Missouri Railroad Police . The passenger train is operated by the Arkansas and Missouri Railroad , said Ron Sparks , the railroad 's police chief . The train departed from Springdale , Arkansas , and was headed to Van Buren to take passengers on a fall foliage excursion . The trains collided Thursday morning when the passenger train stalled on a small grade , apparently because of excess leaves on the track , according to police . `` We called for another locomotive to come help , '' said Sparks . `` Somehow there was miscommunication on the passenger train 's position , and the locomotive rounded the curve and crashed into the passenger train , '' added Sparks . `` It 's a pretty rural area , we had to park in woods , and wade through a river to get the passengers , using four-wheelers to pull them out . '' One of the train 's conductors fractured his ankle and back and was evacuated to the hospital , said Sparks . Local fire and police emergency responders remain on the scene , according to local police . The National Transportation Safety Board was sending a team to the site of the crash Thursday evening to investigate .
A freight train and passenger train collide in northwest Arkansas . - Died: John F. Kennedy, Jr., 47, U.S. Senator from Massachusetts since 1961 May 26, 1968 (Saturday). The National Transportation Safety Board is en route to crash site .