APPLETON (NBC 26) — One year ago on June 27, 2022, an Amtrak train carrying two Appleton Boy Scout troops to Chicago derailed after it struck a dump truck at a crossing in Missouri.
All the boy scouts on the derailed train survived, but four people died, including the truck driver.
NBC 26 caught up with some of the boy scouts reflecting on that unforgettable day.
Eli Skrypczak, 16, and Dean Seaborn, 15, are just like regular teenagers these days.
When they're inside, they chit chat on their phones.
Outside, they shoot hoops together.
"Doing good," Seaborn said. "It's summer. So, nothing to worry about."
But on one summer day last year, what was supposed to be a normal train ride back to Chicago was anything but.
"I felt the jerk and the shake," Skrypczak said. "And then, we tipped and we all kinda just fell over."
On June 27 last year, Troops 12 and 73 from Appleton were heading home from a hiking trip.
On the way back, though, an Amtrak train carrying the troops derailed after hitting a dump truck at a crossing in Missouri.
"I was kind of in the bathroom, and it was a confined space," Seaborn said. "It was hard to get out of. So, I was in there for 30 minutes."
The dump truck driver and three other train passengers were killed from the crash.
When the boy scouts were safe, they say they helped other people get out.
"I was expecting to see chaos," Seaborn said. "But, it was kind of like an orderly fashion. We were all helping people out...I saw like, great teamwork, a lot of courage from the first responders and just citizens helping out."
In October, both boy scout troops received heroism awards for their efforts.
Seaborn said what the scouts did was courageous, but he still doesn't think they're heroes.
"If we're heroes, then the first responders are superheroes," Seaborn said.
Since the train derailment one year ago, both Skrypczak and Seaborn said things have changed for them.
"Bus rides are a little bit harder still, with shaking and bumping, or hard brakes," Skrypczak said.
"I like, remember the past a little bit," Seaborn said. "But like, for the most part I'm fine. I just, like matured just like anyone else has, I guess."
The scouts said they don't get asked as much about what happened anymore. When they do, they said it gets repetitive.
"I don't like talking about it over and over and over throughout a period of the day," Skrypczak said.
Skrypczak and Seaborn have fun when they want to, but aren't forgetting about what happened one year ago.
"We took some pride in what we did," Seaborn said. "But I feel other people don't get enough credit."
Two proud, and even more humble, teenagers.
