Lockhart family’s ordeal sparks concerns over Amtrak’s response to passengers in distress
A college student, Aria Lockhart, safely returned home on Sunday evening after an unexpected ordeal during her Chicago bound train journey.
Lockhart found herself in a distressing situation, trapped inside an empty Amtrak train parked in the yard, having fallen asleep en route to Chicago. Now, her family is raising concerns about the handling of the incident by Amtrak.
Amtrak, in response to the incident, has issued a statement expressing its intention to apologize to Lockhart and investigate the details surrounding the unfortunate event.
As a student at Southern Illinois University, Lockhart boarded an Amtrak train from Carbondale to Chicago in the early hours of Sunday morning. Boarding at 3 a.m., she recounted requesting assigned seating, only to be informed that it wasn’t necessary due to the limited number of passengers. Fatigued from the early hour, Lockhart dozed off.
However, upon awakening, she found herself entirely alone in the train compartment. With the entire car devoid of passengers, Lockhart documented her experience through cellphone videos as she traversed from one empty car to another.