Pastor prays with passengers from train-bus wreck

Four crosses are standing in Biloxi by the train tracks where the four victims were killed in Tuesday’s collision. A pastor from Blessed Francis Xavier Seelos Church prayed with some of the survivors.
Father Gilbert Enderle tells News 25 during a church service this morning he prayed for the two men and the two women who lost their lives. He says although there aren’t many words to be said for such a tragic accident, he’s thankful he was there to help some of those who survived. Father Gilbert Enderle said, “When I first got there, from a distance I could see that they were still trying to either take out an injured person or a dead body from the bus.”
Shattered parts of an emergency exit beside the train tracks cannot begin to put together the pieces of Tuesday’s fatal crash. Four visitors to Biloxi lost their lives. Father Enderle, a pastor in Biloxi, was on his way home when he saw the ambulances. Once he found out a bus full of passengers was hit by a train, he rushed to help and as he got closer an unexpected feeling overruled the chaos. “There was kind of an eerie silence. Nobody was shouting. Nobody was running around. I heard a few of those people praying out loud.”
Father Enderle gathered some of the passengers in a circle and prayed with them, helping one victim to safety. “Lifted her hair and there was just a large amount of blood,” said Father Enderle.
As injured passengers were transported to local hospitals, Father Enderle stayed close by, trying to calm others and remind them of God’s grace. “It’ll always be a mystery. It’s the mystery of suffering, a mystery of tragedy.”
This tragedy hit close to home for Biloxi City Council President Robert Deming. He was in a car struck by a train near the same intersection over a decade ago. “I would wake up every single day and they would have to remind me who I am, where I was, who my brothers were.”
He says whether God played a part in his survival is something he will never know. “To be in the accident I was in and walk away virtually unscathed you always wonder,” said Deming.
The four crosses represent the four lives that were lost. Although answers are scarce at this time, Biloxi residents say they will never forget how the community came together that night. “We have a great respect and appreciation for life on the Gulf Coast and so this touches all of us,” said Deming.
That community closeness was evident in the number of people who were there that night supporting each other in tragedy. News 25 will continue to keep you updated with the latest information on Tuesday’s fatal accident.