‘What scouts do’: Boy Scouts jumped into action in harrowing moments after Amtrak crash

When an Amtrak train derailed in northern Missouri Monday, a crew of teenage Boy Scouts on board got to work helping passengers get out of the overturned train cars.

The train was traveling from Los Angeles to Chicago when it hit a dump truck at a crossing near Mendon, Missouri, and the cars toppled off the tracks and onto their side.

The scouts were among 275 passengers who were on the train along with 12 crew members, according to Amtrak. The train was identified as a Southwest Chief Train 4, and when it wrecked near Mendon it was about 100 miles northeast of Kansas City.

Ultimately, at least four deaths would be reported in the crash and about 150 people taken to 10 hospitals across the state. But at the time, it was not clear how many people were hurt.

On the train at the time were two Boy Scout troops from Wisconsin, according to Scott Armstrong, the director of national media relations for the Boy Scouts of America.

Scouts from Troops 73 and 12 were on their way back from a 10-day trip to Philmont Scout Ranch in New Mexico. They were more senior-level scouts, Armstrong said.

After the crash, the boys jumped into action and began helping fellow passengers by administering first aid and getting people out of the cars, Armstrong said. Many passengers mentioned the Boy Scouts specifically as the ones helping them before first responders were able to get to the rural location.

A 15-year-old boy who is the senior patrol leader for his troop went to the front of the crash and saw the driver of the dump truck laying outside the truck. The teen administered first aid to the driver and stayed with him until he died, Armstrong said.

Dan Skrypczak, father of the 15-year-old and the Appleton Troop 73 Scoutmaster told NewsNation in an interview that his son gave the driver water and held his hand until the end.

“Eli and another boy ran towards the front of the train, to try to determine if anybody was hurting in the vehicle. Eli found the driver and immediately started to render aid and comfort. There wasn’t a lot he could do. I know Eli felt horrible,” Skrypczak said in the interview with NewsNation.

Another boy broke a window open in order to help get people out of a car. Armstrong said he is proud of the boys and that their experience with the scouts has trained them well.

“They are scouts doing what scouts do,” Armstrong said.

There were 16 scouts between the ages of 13 and 17 and eight adult leaders on the train. Armstrong said three of the adults were hospitalized, but have no life-threatening injuries.

None of the boys were seriously injured, and Armstrong said they were all medically cleared Monday night with just scrapes and bruises.

He said the group was in a hotel in Columbia Tuesday and doing well despite having no luggage or phone chargers. Armstrong said they have been in contact with the local Boy Scouts council in the area, the Great Rivers Council, who have offered any assistance they can give.

Parents and scouts from Troop 6 in Columbia have been delivering water and food to them according to John Fabsits, scout executive and CEO of the Great Rivers Council.

“The local council has been great,” Armstrong said.

Armstrong said now they are working on getting everyone safely back home to Wisconsin.