On June 27, 2022, the Southwest Chief, a passenger train operated by Amtrak, derailed near the small town of Mendon, Missouri.

The derailment was caused by the train striking a dump truck that was obstructing the crossing of County Road 113, about three miles (4.8 km) southwest of Mendon.

[3]: 8 At 12:42 p.m. CDT (UTC-5), the Southwest Chief hit the rear end of a 2007 Kenworth W900B dump truck that was partially fouling the railroad crossing on County Road 113 (also known as Porche Prairie Avenue),[6] a gravel road located approximately three miles (4.8 km) southwest of the small town of Mendon, Missouri.

[7] The fully-loaded dump truck was owned by MS Contracting and was transporting construction aggregate north on CR 113 to an Army Corps of Engineers project near the crossing.

[7][11] Preliminary reports from the Missouri State Highway Patrol (MSHP) stated the train hit the dump truck at a passive grade crossing that was characterized as "uncontrolled", having only crossbuck signs and a stop sign to the right of the road for vehicles traveling north;[7] the crossing lacked active features such as warning lights or mechanical arms.

[1] The farmer had met with all three Chariton County commissioners and a safety official from the Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) at the crossing in March 2021.

[29] She also cited a 1998 NTSB report which made a recommendation to develop in-vehicle warning systems[30]: 91  which could have alerted the truck's driver to the train's approach had it been implemented.

[31][32] The slope of the railroad crossing was found to be 13 times steeper then recommended by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO).

[31] On June 29, 2022, an attorney in Chicago who was contacted by several train passengers announced the intent to file multiple lawsuits against Amtrak.

[33] Amtrak had modified the terms and conditions of its tickets in January 2019 to state that mandatory arbitration would be used to settle disputes, preventing passengers from filing lawsuits;[34] this has drawn criticism from Congress and both the House and Senate responded by simultaneously introducing bills to prohibit mandatory arbitration clauses.

[38][39] On June 29, 2022, the widow of the truck driver filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Chariton County and the BNSF roadmaster that managed Maintenance of Way for the line.

[26][40] The next day, on June 30, Amtrak and BNSF Railway filed a federal lawsuit against MS Contracting, claiming the company's negligence led to the crash and derailment.

[42] On July 1, an injured passenger from Iowa filed suit against Amtrak, BNSF, and MS Contracting, faulting the negligent design of the crossing and "cattle car conditions" on the train.

[44][45][46] On July 13, a wrongful death lawsuit was filed against MS Contracting and BNSF by the family of a person killed during the derailment.