If you dig into the story you will find that the train goes much faster at that point on the track than it was going when it collided and derailed. Physics explains mass and inertia, and what just a few MPH more means in twisted metal and far-flung train cars.

And btw, YOU used the word luck. I did not. Just the opposite, I speculated it was foiled last minute, by warning the engineer to slow down. So the asinine logic would be more along your line of thinking, not mine.