A "service of reflection" was held Sunday to honor the victims of Tuesday’s deadly Amtrak train derailment.
The event began at 5 p.m. ET at Frankford Avenue and Wheatsheaf Lane, the same location where a New York-bound Amtrak train derailed in Philadelphia Tuesday night, killing eight people and injuring over 200.
Mayor Michael Nutter, Governor Tom Wolf, U.S. Secretary of Transportation Anthony Foxx, Amtrak President & CEO Joseph Boardman, U.S. Senator Tom Carper (DE), Congressman Bob Brady (PA) and Judge Renee Cardwell Hughes, the CEO of American Red Cross of Southeastern Pennsylvania, also attended.
A midshipman from the U.S. Naval Academy, an Associated Press staffer, a Wells Fargo senior vice president, the CEO of a tech company, a dean at Medgar Evers College, a Maryland father of two, an employee at Cushman & Wakefield and an Italian national were the eight people killed in the derailment. You can read more about the victims HERE.
During the ceremony, attendees honored the victims by ringing bells while saying their names and releasing doves. Foxx had a message for the families of the victims.
"I can't imagine the grief and shock that Tuesday brought to your doorsteps," he said. "And I know there's nothing any of us can say to bring you comfort. But we will nevertheless spend the rest of our careers attempting to honor the memory of your loved ones. We will honor them by making sure this never happens again."
The first responders who came to the scene after the accident were also honored during Sunday's ceremony.
