It was that kind of weekend.
The hangover from Villanova's historic 44-point blowout win over Oklahoma had just begun to wear off when the next huge story landed in my lap.
As usual, I was working early Sunday morning updating the website and doing some week on our weekly publications when I got an email from our ace freelance photographer Dave Schlott.
Not much escapes Dave when it comes to police and fire situations, and he usually tips me when something was breaking. It was just after 8 a.m. when he emailed me that there had been a train crash in Chester.
An Amtrak train had struck a backhoe that was on the tracks.
There was believed to be fatalities.
Suddenly, Villanova didn't seem that important any more.
I emailed our Sunday photographer, Pete Bannan, who headed for the scene on Booth Street in Chester.
Pete was one of the first photographers on the scene, and his images were getting national play, popping up on Gawker as well as several national Sunday morning network news shows.
Pete also managed to talk to some residents on Booth Street, where the train tracks run literally right behind their house. They described an "explosion" and a "fireball."
That is what I used for today's front page. Here is our updated story on the crash.
Two people, both veteran Amtrak employees who were on the construction vehicle that was struck by the locomotive, were killed. On the train, 37 passengers were injured. Most were treated and released from local hospitals for scrapes and bruises.
Chester Mayor Thaddeus Kirkland will hold a press conference this morning at 11 a.m. to update the investigation into the crash.
Amtrak and SEPTA service, which was halted for much of the day yesterday, is back operating on a normal schedule this morning.
We'll bring you all the latest details as the story continues to unfold, including the key question: Why was that backhoe on the tracks?
Just a year after the fatal Amtrak crash in Philadelphia, elected officials like U.S. Rep. Bob Brady are getting a little antsy concerning safety issues and vowing to get answers as to why these incidents continue to occur.
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