Odnondaga Community College professor, Laurel Saiz, who visited the Mt. SAC newsroom last week, is among the 32 people who were injured in an Amtrak Train Derailment in Kansas on Monday.

Saiz, who teaches in Syracuse, New York, was taking the train from Los Angeles to Chicago after visiting Mt. SAC to observe Sac.Media’s newsroom, which the Neiman Journalism Lab at Harvard called “the most daring, innovative college media outlets in the United States.”

“I didn’t hear about [her plan] prior to her visit. I walked into the newsroom and saw Laurel sitting there. I was confused at first, but once someone filled me in, I was flattered and intrigued. I wanted to make sure she left with more knowledge on us and our digital newsroom,” said Talin Hakopyan, Editor in Chief of sac.media.

Saiz was continuing on her sabbatical trip to remodel and revamp her college’s journalism program, which she calls “defunct,” when the Amtrak Train she was on derailed.

According to CNYCentral, Saiz awoke on Monday to horrific noises.

“I heard this horrible rumbling and grating and bump sound. I heard that sound for maybe five seconds and then my train car started to turn over. At that point I said to myself, ‘this is a train derailment.’ I didn’t scream it was just sort of registering in my mind,” Saiz said.

The Mt. SAC journalism editors who had shared their journalism insight with Saiz were all shocked to learn that she had been injured in the Amtrak derailment, which according to investigators was caused by a truck that hit the track and shifted it.

“Oh my God it’s terrible. It’s one of those things that becomes even more real when you find out that you actually know someone involved in an accident. When I read about tragedies or see them on the news, I always wonder who those people were, where were they going, and try to imagine their lives. Already knowing her, I didn’t have to imagine that she was real. I had talked with her and gotten to know her, even for the briefest amount of time. It’s surreal,” said Breanna Lopes, Editor in Chief of Substance.

“As soon as I found out, I sent her an email to wish her a swift recovery, and I really wanted to convey a personal touch of warmth, so that she knew we genuinely cared, and that her accident meant more than another news story to us — It meant the injury of new friend,” Sadies Céng, Editor in Chief of News and SAC On Scene. “I was really happy when she responded and said, ‘Wow! You guys are [s]o nice!!’”

Saiz is among two people who remain hospitalized according to the Associated Press. Saiz sustained a broken collarbone and has bruises covering her body.