BNSF train crashes into semi truck that was stuck on the tracks in Wabash IN on Monday, August 15, 2011. Photo credit: Wane.com

The accident occurred at about 1 p.m. at the Sinclair and Carroll Streets railroad crossing. The train was unable to stop in time to avoid crashing into the 18 wheeler that was stuck on the tracks, police told reporters.

Map showing location of semi truck crash with train on the tracks near the intersection of Sinclair Street and Carroll Street in downtown Wabash, IN on Monday, August 15, 2011.

The impact severed the semi to leave the cab on one side of the tracks and the trailer on the other.

There did not appear to be any injuries at the time of the accident.

Emergency crews were called to the scene to lift the tractor trailer so the train cars could continue moving.

The incident is under investigation at this time.

Indiana cities with a high incident of truck accidents and vehicle collisions resulting in severe personal injuries and even death include Fort Wayne, Gary, Indianapolis and South Bend to name a few.

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The truck driver crossed the tracks directly in the path of a southbound train. The lead car of the train was heavily damaged in the truck accident and was believed to be completely destroyed.

Shortly before 9:30 a.m. Tuesday morning a tractor trailer truck owned by Laurel, MD based John W. Ritter Trucking Company was headed north on Gilroy Road in Baltimore County, MD. The truck was driven by 53 year old Mark Szurek who was headed to the McCormick’s Hunt Plant in Hunt Valley, hauling a load of plastic containers.

When the driver of the 18 wheeler reached the plant he attempted to enter by making a right hand turn against the signal, crossing over the railroad tracks of Maryland’s Light Rail line.

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The truck driver crossed the tracks directly in the path of a southbound train. The train conductor was unable to stop to avoid an accident and slammed into the trailer truck. The train then pushed the semi truck down the track for several hundred feet, causing the trailer to break open and spill its cargo of plastic containers. The lead car of the train was heavily damaged in the truck accident and was believed to be completely destroyed.

A small gray Honda which was behind the trailer truck was also involved in the truck accident, rear ending the back trailer of the semi truck. The Honda’s driver has been identified as 45 year old Elliot Schoen.

The impact of the truck collision trapped the train conductor in the crushed lead rail car. The conductor has been identified as 51 year old Deborah Morton. Local emergency personnel responded to the truck accident scene and worked to extricate her. It would take workers almost thirty minutes to get the train conductor out of the demolished train car.

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Once free she was stabilized at the scene and then transported by medical helicopter to Maryland Shock Trauma Center in Baltimore. There were no reports on the extent of Ms. Morton’s injuries, but they are believed to be non life threatening.

The driver of the tractor trailer truck was not injured in the truck accident and refused medical treatment at the scene. The Honda driver was also uninjured and turned down treatment offered by EMTs.

There were seven passengers on the train at the time of the truck accident. Two riders were taken to the Greater Baltimore Medical Center with minor injuries.
The truck accident closed down the rail line for a long period of time, interrupting the rail service between Hunt Valley and Timonium. It would take workers more than nine hours to pry apart the wreckage of the train and 18 wheeler truck.

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The Maryland Transit Authority said that trains on the line would be turned around at Timonium, and buses would carrier riders to Hunt Valley. The delays would continue into Wednesday.

Officers with the MTA and their Safety Division as well as the Baltimore County Police are investigating the truck accident. They have not determined what led to the truck accident with the train. At this time it appears that the safety signals were all operational and in good working order. However, there are no safety gates at the Gilroy Road intersection and some witnesses in the area say it is a dangerous spot.

Charges are pending against the truck driver, Mr. Szurek. The truck accident remains under investigation.

A Norfolk-Southern train slammed into a pick-up truck at its crossing on Hitzfield Street in Huntington, Indiana tragically killing a father and son Weds morning on December 30, 2009

The Norfolk-Southern train slammed into the pick-up truck at its crossing on Hitzfield Street shortly after 11am, instantly killing the father, 44-year old Wally Bowers and his son, 22-year old Nathan Bowers. The crossing does not have lights or swing arms, just two stop signs on both sides of the tracks.

The family of the victims of the train-truck accident spoke out to Indiana’s NewsCenter.

Wally sold scrap metal for a living to help support his family including his special-needs son Nathan. LeBecca Boyer, Wally’s former wife, owns several rental properties, but the economy has taken a toll on her income, leaving no money for Christmas presents.

Now Boyer is left with little money for funeral expenses for men she says would have given the shirts off their backs for anybody.

“I’ll sell my house and all of my belongings if I have to,” said a tearful LeBecca.

Boyer and her family hope new safety measures will be installed at the crossing. Residents tell Indiana’s NewsCenter that something “should be done there” to prevent another tragedy.

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Tennessee Music City Star commuter train hits dump truck crossing railroad tracks

The Music City Star is a commuter rail service that runs between Nashville and Lebanon, Tennessee covering 32 miles of rail line. The railroad service uses the existing tracks of the Nashville and Eastern Railroad and currently has six stops: Riverfront Station (western terminus), Donelson, Hermitage, Mt. Juliet, Martha (Tennessee State Route 109 and U.S. Highway 70), and Lebanon (eastern terminus).

The train was on its way to pick up passengers in Lebanon when it struck the semi dump truck on a construction crossing just east of Highway 109, Metropolitan Transit Authority spokeswoman Patricia Harris-Morehead reports.

Approximate location of Music City Star train and truck accident near Lebanon, TN

According to Harris-Morehead there were no passengers on the train at the time, only the train engineer and conductor.  The train hit the truck while the truck was backing across the tracks. The truck driver was not injured.

The train was preparing to make its last run of the morning. Its afternoon schedule was not affected by the crash.

The Tennessee Titans football game is still scheduled for Friday. The Music City Star train is scheduled to run a Game-Day Express to shuttle passengers to and from the Tennessee Titans football game on Friday. This accident will not interrupt any of those plans, officials said.

The Metropolitan Transit Authority took over management of the train last year from the Regional Transportation Authority, which started running between Lebanon and Nashville in 2006.

Harris-Morehead said Tuesday afternoon’s accident was the fifth time the train had collided with a vehicle along the route, which runs from Nashville’s riverfront through Hermitage, Donelson and Mt. Juliet before it ends off Baddour Parkway in Lebanon.

None of those crashes resulted in serious injuries, she said.

In August 2008, the train hit a car stuck in a ditch near Tulip Grove Road in Hermitage. A month later, a teen was treated for bumps and bruises after being hit by the train while driving his truck over the tracks in Lebanon. Police said he tried to cross the tracks despite the flashing warning lights, and that he got out of his truck before the train hit it.

Tennessean.com contributed to this story.

The law firm of Gordon & Elias offers legal information to anyone who may have been injured in a train or semi truck accident in Tennessee or nationwide.  Steve Gordon is a nationwide FELA lawyer and truck accident attorney who specializes in helping individuals and families who may need help.

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Matthews, NC truck accident; train collides with tractor traier stuck on train tracks

The Matthews Police Department reports that the trailer got stuck on the tracks on Crestdale Road near East Charles Street. Because the truck driver was able to un-hitch the cab of the truck from the trailer, the train, which consisted of two locomotives and 19 cars, hit the trailer resulting in an accident.

Crestdale Rd. at E. Charles St. was closed, as well as Tank Town Rd. at the E. Charles St. rail crossing. Around 10:30 AM CSX was able to move the train and reopen access to Tank Town Rd. and the Rainbow Ridge community.

Repairs of the affected rail crossing at Crestdale Rd. and clean up of the scene lasted into the afternoon hours.

The driver of the truck was cited for careless and reckless driving; and obstructing a rail road crossing with a commercial motor vehicle, according to the Town of Matthews

State Highway Patrol Commercial Motor Vehicle Enforcement Troopers responded to assist with the investigation and charged the trucking company, Heartland Express, with failure to display triangles on a disabled vehicle and disobeying traffic signs for vehicle restrictions.

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Missouri train and truck accident ends in tragedy. One Dies; children injured.

Missouri State Highway Patrol says Kristy Willis, 33, was driving 1992 Chevrolet 1500 pick-up truck with three passengers inside.

Kelsey Turner, 8, sat in the front seat. Two other kids, Tiffany Bowden, 15, and her brother Carl, 16, sat in the truck’s bed.

The Highway Patrol says the car and train collided when the pick-up tried to cross the railroad tracks along Highway 60.

Tim Bowden, the father of the two kids who were in the pick-up bed, says Tiffany saw Willis reach across the front seat to help Turner, perhaps with her seat belt.

Bowden says Tiffany and Carl saw the train coming and jumped out of the pick-up bed just in time. They’re doing okay.

But Highway Patrol says, 8 year old Kelsey who was in the front seat, suffered serious injuries and was taken by helicopter to St. John’s Hospital in Springfield.

Troopers also said that Willis, who was driving, died in the crash. Accident reports show neither Willis nor Turner were wearing seat belts.

Bowden says he’s very shaken by what happened.

“It’s a tragedy,” he says. “From what my daughter told me, they pulled up on the tracks and nobody had even seen the train. The train didn’t even blow a whistle, didn’t blow a horn or nothing.”

Bowden says his kids had just gotten off the school bus, and Willis, their neighbor, was giving them a ride home from the bus stop.

Reports show that the train driver Edward Cleeton, 50, was not injured and was driven from the scene.

Gordon & Elias, offer experienced legal counsel including Truck Law and FELA Law information. If you need to speak to a truck accident or train accident attorney, Missouri FELA Lawyer and Missouri truck accident attorney , Steve Gordon is available 24/7.

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