Train Strikes Semi On Railroad Tracks In Washington County

(Town of Polk) A semi-truck stalled out on railroad tracks in Washington County yesterday (Thursday) evening and was struck by a locomotive. There were no injuries in the incident which occurred around 5:30pm on Scenic Drive in the Town of Polk.

The semi driver quickly exited the cab and narrowly escaped as a northbound Canadian National crashed into the semi-tractor. The engineer was able to see that there was a truck on the tracks but was unable to stop on time.

The train, which was traveling at around 35 miles-per-hour, came to a stop one mile after the collision. The semi-truck was hauling a dump trailer loaded with 80-thousand pounds of sand from a nearby gravel pit.

The driver had just left with the load of sand when he began experiencing mechanical issues. He attempted to get the truck back to the pit when it became disabled on the tracks. The collision resulted in significant damage to the tractor and a diesel fuel spill of 60 gallons. The locomotive suffered minor damage. The tracks were blocked for approximately two hours.

The crash was in addition to around five-dozen weather-related accidents the Washington County Sheriff’s Office handled yesterday between 5am and 1pm.