Stephen King apologizes for tweet mocking Republicans involved in train wreck

Stephen King's fictional Maine town inspired the new Hulu series "Castle Rock." (Reuters)

Author Stephen King took Twitter to make light of Wednesday's train wreck that occured when a train carrying members of Congress to a Republican retreat in West Virginia hit a truck.

“A trainload of Republicans on their way to a pricey retreat hit a garbage truck,” King wrote in a tweet on Thursday. “My friend Russ calls that karma.”

King's tweet was likely referencing his friend and long-time consultant Russ Dorr. According to a 2009 interview with WIRED, Dorr is a physician who met King in 1974 during a checkup and has given him advice on how to make the blood, gore and mayhem that make the horror author is known for seem so realistic and true-to-life.

The article credits Dorr with helping King on such famous projects as “The Shining,” “Pet Sematary,” “Misery,” “Cell” and  “Under the Dome.”

King's tweet immediately received backlash from people that thought the “It” scribe was being entirely too flippant about an event that saw one person die. Piers Morgan was among the first to respond.

“A man died in that crash, you despicable man,” he wrote.

Soon after posting his initial tweet, King posted a follow up.

“Of COURSE sorry the truck driver died,” he wrote.

However, that didn't satiate his angry fans, prompting an apology in which he regrets being "thoughtless" with regards to the victim, but maintained that his distaste for the GOP is not, in his eyes, unfounded.

"A rather thoughtless tweet from me concerning the train-truck crash, for which I apologize (if one is necessary)," he wrote. "It should be pointed out, too, that those Republican politicians, who can be heartless when they vote, immediately got out to help."

As previously reported, authorities identified Christopher Foley, 28, as the person killed. In addition, there were several injuries as a result of the accident. The lawmakers only reported minor injuries as a result of the incident.

It’s worth noting that King himself was involved in a car accident in 1999 when a distracted driver struck him from behind with a van. The author’s injuries were very severe and he required surgeries and physical therapy.

Many were quick to remind King of his past experience on Twitter.