The Latest: railroad, bus company and driver sued in fatal Biloxi crash

Men prepare to move a charter bus after a freight train crashed into the bus in Biloxi, Miss., Tuesday, March 7, 2017. The freight train smashed into the charter bus in the coastal Mississippi city on Tuesday, pushing the bus 300 feet down the tracks and leaving several people dead, authorities said. (Kevin McGill/The Associated Press)
Men prepare to move a charter bus after a freight train crashed into the bus in Biloxi, Miss., Tuesday, March 7, 2017. The freight train smashed into the charter bus in the coastal Mississippi city on Tuesday, pushing the bus 300 feet down the tracks and leaving several people dead, authorities said. (Kevin McGill/The Associated Press)
Men prepare to move a charter bus after a freight train crashed into the bus in Biloxi, Miss., Tuesday, March 7, 2017. The freight train smashed into the charter bus in the coastal Mississippi city on Tuesday, pushing the bus 300 feet down the tracks and leaving several people dead, authorities said. (Kevin McGill/The Associated Press)

JACKSON, Mississippi (AP) — The Latest on fatal crash between a tour bus and freight train in Biloxi:

1 p.m.

Heirs of a Texas couple killed when a train slammed into a tour bus in Biloxi are going to court.

Attorney Mikal Watts has sued the railroad, the bus company and its unidentified driver in state court in Dallas for Peggy Hoffman’s son.

Watts said Thursday that attorney Broadus Spivey is suing separately for heirs of Hoffman’s husband, Ken Hoffman, but they’re working together.

The Hoffmans were among four people killed and dozens injured after their tour bus got stuck on a humped train crossing in Biloxi and was hit by a CSX freight train.

The lawsuit filed Wednesday says CSX Transportation allowed “ultra hazardous” conditions at the crossing, and the Echo Transportation driver failed to follow traffic signs.

Neither CSX nor Echo responded immediately to requests for comment.

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3:30 a.m.

Biloxi Mayor Andrew “Fofo” Gilich says he’ll work with the railroad to close some crossings and make others safer.

Gilich said Wednesday that he’ll use recommendations from CSX Transportation to minimize the chances of another fatal wreck.

The city had already scheduled a hearing March 21 to discuss closing six railroad crossings when the CSX freight train hit a bus stuck on the tracks Tuesday. However, the Main Street crossing, where 40 were injured in addition to the deaths, isn’t on the closure list.

The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating.

The crossing has a warning sign about low clearance, topped by a picture of a tractor-trailer stuck on a railroad track.

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