Portland Doc Tells of Aiding Derailment Victims

A Portland surgeon who was on his way to Seattle to shop Monday morning ended up assisting several victims of the DuPont train derailment in Pierce County, Wash. Nate Selden, chair of neurological surgery at Oregon Health & Science University, told his story to the Oregonian. 

Selden and his 18-year-old son were just south of the where Amtrak's #501 train fell from an overpass onto Interstate 5 below. "In the last few minutes before we got there, we saw dozens upon dozens of first responders," Selden told the news outlet.

At the scene they found train cars "littered across the highway." Selden began assisting prehospital crews with triage. He estimates he helped around 25 people in two hours at the scene, including an infant thrown from its mother's arm by the impact and a couple in their 80s. 

Of the first responders who answered the incident, Selden said, "I certainly have additional respect after seeing them in the field today. We should be very grateful as citizens that they are there, ready to go."

Read more from the Oregonian.