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Truck Got Stuck on RR Tracks
allen griggs
Member Posts: 35,695 ✭✭✭✭
Halifax, North Carolina
Train Derails After Hitting Stuck Truck, 55 Injured
An Amtrak train was derailed and 55 people were injured after it collided with a truck hauling an oversized load that was stuck on the tracks. Neither the driver nor the highway patrol cars that were escorting it contacted the emergency number posted at the crossing, so the train had no warning and plowed into the truck at nearly full speed.
The 127-ton oversized load was 16 feet wide, 16 feet tall, and 164 feet long - so big that it required 13 axles and a highway patrol escort the whole way. The truck was sticking to back roads since it didn't have the clearance to get under bridges along highways, but by taking back roads, they were forced to take a sharp left turn that crossed the railroad tracks.
Though it was initially reported that the truck had tried to beat the train, it is now clear that the truck had been stuck on the tracks for over five minutes before the collision. Despite having plenty of time to realize that the truck was stuck, the driver and highway patrol officers failed call the emergency number posted at the crossing which could have passed along a warning to the train in less than one minute.
It is unclear at this time whether they attempted to call and didn't receive an answer or if no call was placed. A spokesperson for CSX Railroad declined to say if anyone had placed a call before the crash. One witness interviewed by ABC11, Amber Keeter, asked if they needed help well before the crash.
"I asked him, `can you get anybody on the radio?' He said, `No, I can't'," Keeter said. "And I asked him, `are you guys going to be able to stop the train?' He said, `I don't think so.'"
Jeff Gordon, a State Highway Patrol spokesman, said that it is the responsibility of the drivers, not of the troopers, to warn any incoming trains.
When it became clear that the driver was not going to be able to move the rig in time, he exited his vehicle and ran to safety. Two cars on the train derailed completely and 55 people were injured but no one was killed.
No criminal charges have been filed against the driver at this time, though law enforcement officials say that it is still under consideration.
http://abc7.com/news/40-passengers-injured-in-truck-train-collision-in-north-carolina/550802/
Train Derails After Hitting Stuck Truck, 55 Injured
An Amtrak train was derailed and 55 people were injured after it collided with a truck hauling an oversized load that was stuck on the tracks. Neither the driver nor the highway patrol cars that were escorting it contacted the emergency number posted at the crossing, so the train had no warning and plowed into the truck at nearly full speed.
The 127-ton oversized load was 16 feet wide, 16 feet tall, and 164 feet long - so big that it required 13 axles and a highway patrol escort the whole way. The truck was sticking to back roads since it didn't have the clearance to get under bridges along highways, but by taking back roads, they were forced to take a sharp left turn that crossed the railroad tracks.
Though it was initially reported that the truck had tried to beat the train, it is now clear that the truck had been stuck on the tracks for over five minutes before the collision. Despite having plenty of time to realize that the truck was stuck, the driver and highway patrol officers failed call the emergency number posted at the crossing which could have passed along a warning to the train in less than one minute.
It is unclear at this time whether they attempted to call and didn't receive an answer or if no call was placed. A spokesperson for CSX Railroad declined to say if anyone had placed a call before the crash. One witness interviewed by ABC11, Amber Keeter, asked if they needed help well before the crash.
"I asked him, `can you get anybody on the radio?' He said, `No, I can't'," Keeter said. "And I asked him, `are you guys going to be able to stop the train?' He said, `I don't think so.'"
Jeff Gordon, a State Highway Patrol spokesman, said that it is the responsibility of the drivers, not of the troopers, to warn any incoming trains.
When it became clear that the driver was not going to be able to move the rig in time, he exited his vehicle and ran to safety. Two cars on the train derailed completely and 55 people were injured but no one was killed.
No criminal charges have been filed against the driver at this time, though law enforcement officials say that it is still under consideration.
http://abc7.com/news/40-passengers-injured-in-truck-train-collision-in-north-carolina/550802/
Comments
I cannot understand why nobody called to stop the train.
quote:Jeff Gordon, a State Highway Patrol spokesman, said that it is the responsibility of the drivers, not of the troopers, to warn any incoming trains
That is a typical "cop out". Jeff should instead be furious with the NCSP officers on the scene. Instead of sitting on their butts in the their cars they should have been more proactive, if they weren't going to help fix the situation what good are they?
You are either part of the problem or part of the solution.....that's the bottom line.
Allen, I heard this on the news when it happened and read about in the paper.
I cannot understand why nobody called to stop the train.
quote:Jeff Gordon, a State Highway Patrol spokesman, said that it is the responsibility of the drivers, not of the troopers, to warn any incoming trains
That is a typical "cop out". Jeff should instead be furious with the NCSP officers on the scene. Instead of sitting on their butts in the their cars they should have been more proactive, if they weren't going to help fix the situation what good are they?
You are either part of the problem or part of the solution.....that's the bottom line.
I wonder, if the troopers would have been stuck on the tracks with the truck, would they have still thought the driver should make the call - or would it have been OK for them to do it? [V]
The driver came to my friends house to try to call 911,not many cell phones around then.
The train hit the trailer and drug it about 400yds.It took out the crossing gates,control box and about 1,000 ties.
I was totally astounded to witness it.It was like slow motion.
Amazingly,their was no fire!!
The trailer got hung up on the tracks and lifted the drive wheels of the tractor off the street.