Buchanan not on board train bound for retreat that hit truck

An Amtrak train carrying several Republican members of Congress and their staffers to a retreat in West Virginia hit a truck Wednesday morning, according to multiple reports. Rep. Vern Buchanan was not on board the train.

White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders confirmed one fatality and one serious injury, according to the Associated Press, but no lawmakers or their staff were seriously injured.

Buchanan’s press secretary Riley Ploch confirmed that the Longboat Key congressman was not on the train. Politico reported Buchanan was scheduled to take a private plane to Greenbrier Resort, where the retreat is taking place.

“He is thinking of everyone involved, including the family of the person who passed away in the crash,” Ploch wrote in an email to the Bradenton Herald.

Buchanan flew in an Embraer Phenom 300 jet from Manassas Regional Airport to Greenbrier Valley Airport in Lewisberg, W.V. at 12:38 p.m., about 90 minutes later than previously scheduled according to flight tracking website FlightAware. The private plane is owned by Aircraft Holding & Leasing LLC, of which Buchanan is a managing member, according to records.

Kentucky Congressman James Comer estimated about 100 Republican lawmakers were on the train, including House Speaker Paul Ryan. The crash happened around 11:20 a.m. near Crozet, Va., which is about halfway between Washington, D.C. and White Sulphur Springs, W.Va. Lawmakers were taken to nearby Charlottesville to then ride on buses for the rest of the journey.

According to the Washington Post, lawmakers were expected to hear from Vice President Mike Pence later that day and from President Donald Trump on Thursday.

This story was originally published January 31, 2018 at 12:40 PM with the headline "Buchanan not on board train bound for retreat that hit truck."