First victims of Amtrak tragedy are named as two 'rail aficionados' who were thrilled to be on the inaugural journey of high-speed train before deadly crash - as investigators say driver may have been DISTRACTED by worker in training

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The first victims of the Amtrak train tragedy have been identified as a local transit employee and his friend who were thrilled to be on the inaugural journey of new high-speed train before it derailed, killing three and injuring 100 others. 

Zack Willhoite, 35, and friend Jim Hamre were both killed when the train careened off an overpass south of Seattle, spilling cars onto the highway below on Monday. The third victim has not yet been identified. 

Federal officials revealed on Tuesday they were investigating whether the Amtrak engineer was distracted by the presence of an employee-in-training in the locomotive as it emerged the train was hurtling 50mph over the speed limit when it derailed. 

The official said investigators want to know whether the engineer lost 'situational awareness' because of the second person in the cab. The engineer, whose name was not released, was bleeding from the head after the wreck, and both eyes were swollen shut, according to radio conversations.

Radio transmissions in which a crew member discussed injuries to the engineer mentioned a second person in the front of the train, who was also hurt.

It comes as the first images from inside the train were shared on Good Morning America on Tuesday. They showed windows covered in cracks, luggage compartments broken open and the branches of a tree invading one rail car which had split open when it rolled over into the woods at the side of the railway tracks.  

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These are some of the first views inside the Amtrak train that derailed on Monday near DuPont, Washington

The first victims of the crash have since been identified as local transit employee Zack Willhoite (left in an undated photo) and his friend Jim Hamre (right)

Pictures show luggage bins broken open and rail cars split after they careened off the tracks

In this show, branches from the woods where some of the train cars crashed are seen next to images of destruction 

Friends of the two identified victims say they had just wanted to be among the first on the train's maiden journey.

Willhoite, 35, had worked at the Washington-based Pierce Transit since 2008. Hamre previously worked for the Washington State Department of Transportation and was involved in the Washington Association of Railroad Passengers. 

'It's heartbreaking to hear that @PierceTransit employee and rail aficionado Zack Willhoite did not survive the derailment,' chair of the transit company's advisory board Chris Karnes tweeted on Tuesday.

'He helped our advisory committee with IT issues, and behind the scenes he was a writer and advocate for better transit for all. He will be missed.' 

A friend paid tribute to both men on Hamre's Facebook page, saying: 'As we all knew they would be, Jim and his great friend Zach Wilhoite were on Amtrak Train 501 on the first run over the new route and they were, unbelievably, two of the three killed in the horrible derailment of that train.' 

Bella Dinh-Zarr, a National Transportation Safety Board member, said at a Monday night news conference that information from the event data recorder in the rear locomotive showed the train was traveling at 80 mph in a 30 mph zone when it derailed at 7:34am. Mangled train cars ended up on top of each other - and one hung precariously over the freeway.

When the clanging of metal and screeching stopped at first it was quiet. Then came the screams.

Friends of the two victims, Zack Willhoite and Jim Hamre, say they were eager to be among the first on the train's maiden journey

A crane is used to lower a damaged Amtrak train car from an overpass at the scene of Monday's deadly train crash

Seats are jammed together with other debris on an upside-down Amtrak train car taken from the scene of the deadly crash

At least three people died in the early Monday morning crash, as the train was speeding from Seattle to Portland 

Federal investigators say the train was going 80 mph in a 30mph zone when it derailed on a bridge crossing Interstate 5

It was the first day of a new high-speed service which shaved 10 minutes off the typical Seattle to Portland journey 

After the crash, the injured called out as rescuers - including people who had been in cars on their morning freeway commute - rushed to help. One of the train passengers was Emma Shafer, who found herself at a 45-degree angle staring at the seats in front of her that had dislodged and swung around.

'It felt oddly silent after the actual crashing,' Shafer said. 'Then there was people screaming because their leg was messed up ... I don't know if I actually heard the sirens, but they were there. A guy was like, 'Hey, I'm Robert. We'll get you out of here.''

Dinh-Zarr said it's not yet known what caused the train to derail and that 'it's too early to tell' why it was going so fast.

Positive train control - the technology that can slow or stop a speeding train - wasn't in use on this stretch of track, according to Amtrak President Richard Anderson.

In 2015, an Amtrak train in Philadelphia was traveling at twice the 50 mph speed limit as it entered a sharp curve and derailed. Eight people were killed and more than 200 were injured when the locomotive and four of the train's seven passenger cars jumped the tracks. Several cars overturned and ripped apart.

A track chart prepared by the Washington State Department of Transportation shows the maximum speed drops from 79 mph to 30 mph for passenger trains just before the tracks curve to cross Interstate 5, which is where the train went off the tracks.

Local officials had voiced their concerns about the train speeding so fast through bends at a meeting earlier this month 

A few motorists were injured when none of the cars came falling down onto the road, but none were killed 

The chart, dated February 7, was submitted to the Federal Railroad Administration in anticipation of the start of passenger service along a new bypass route that shaves off 10 minutes for the trip between Seattle and Portland, Oregon.

Kimberly Reason with Sound Transit, the Seattle-area transit agency that owns the tracks, said speed signs are posted 2 miles before the speed zone changes and just before the speed zone approaching the curve.

Lakewood Mayor Don Anderson (pictured) warned in early December that the Department of Transportation needed to add more safety measures before launching the high-speed trains

Eric Corp, a councilman for the small city of DuPont near the derailment, said he rode the train with about 30 or so dignitaries and others on a special trip Friday before the service opened to the public Monday. 

'Once we were coming up on that curve, the train slowed down considerably,' he said, adding that 'in no way did it make me feel like we were going too fast.'

Lakewood Mayor Don Anderson warned in early December that the Department of Transportation needed to add more safety measures before launching the high-speed trains.

The city of Lakewood is just miles from the accident site, where a train hurtled off an overpass and spilled some of its cars onto the highway below.

'Come back when there is that accident, and try to justify not putting in those safety enhancements,' he said, according to KOMO News. 'Or you can go back now and advocate for the money to do it, because this project was never needed and endangers our citizens.'

The train was not full. Authorities said there were 80 passengers and five on-duty crew members on board when it derailed and pulled 13 cars off the tracks. Authorities said there were three confirmed deaths. More than 70 people were taken for medical care - including 10 with serious injuries.

About two hours after the accident, a U.S. official who was briefed on the investigation said he was told at least six people were killed. The official said he had no new information to explain the discrepancy in the numbers. The official was not authorized to discuss the investigation publicly and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.

In a statement, the FBI said local police were the primary responders and there was no information suggesting 'an elevated risk to Washington residents.'

Investigators with the NTSB arrived on the scene of the derailment late Monday night 

The railway tracks had been updated for the new service between Seattle and Portland 

Train car wheels are seen on the freeway below the track after the Monday derailment 

Two semi trucks were damaged in the early Monday morning derailment, in addition to five cars

In a radio transmission immediately after the accident, the conductor can be heard saying the train was coming around a corner and was crossing a bridge that passed over Interstate 5 when it derailed.

Dispatch audio also indicated that the engineer survived with bleeding from the head and both eyes swollen shut.

'I'm still figuring that out. We've got cars everywhere and down onto the highway,' he tells the dispatcher, who asks if everyone is OK.

Aleksander Kristiansen, a 24-year-old exchange student at the University of Washington from Copenhagen, was going to Portland to visit the city for the day.

'I was just coming out of the bathroom when the accident happened. My car just started shaking really, really badly,' he said.

The back of his train car was wide open because it had separated from the rest of the train, so he and others were able to jump out to safety.

The train was making the inaugural run on the new route as part of a $180.7 million project designed to speed up service by removing passenger trains from a route along Puget Sound that's bogged down by curves, single-track tunnels and freight traffic.

The new bypass was built on an existing inland rail line that runs along Interstate 5 from Tacoma to DuPont, near where Train 501 derailed.