Rail advocate among those killed in Amtrak crash

A board member of a passenger rail advocacy group was one of those killed in Monday's Amtrak derailment in DuPont.

The Rail Passengers Association said Jim Hamre was one of the three killed in the crash that also injured dozens of people.

"Jim was among the country's most respected and effective rail advocates and a good friend and mentor to me. I will miss his counsel, and our community is poorer for his loss," Rail Passengers Association President Jim Mathews said in a statement.

"Jim was proud of the part that rail advocates played as stakeholders in expanding passenger rail services in the Northwest,” RPA Chairman Peter LeCody said in a statement “Last year he took my wife and me on a tour of the region showing how important rail is to connect us in our daily lives. I will miss my friend Jim."

http://www.king5.com/article/news/local/rail-advocate-among-those-killed-in-amtrak-crash/281-500701261