Monday, March 30, 2015

1 INJURED IN TRAIN COLLISION WITH A ROAD GRADER NEAR GRETNA, NEBRASKA




MARCH 30, 2015

GRETNA, NEBRASKA

A Sarpy County employee is in stable condition after the road grader he was operating was struck by a train near Gretna on Monday morning.

Authorities were called to the scene just west of Highway 6 and Capehart Road around 10:45 a.m.

The Sarpy County Sheriff's Office said the BNSF train collided with the right rear side of the Public Works grader. After the crash, the train traveled about 600 yards before coming to a complete stop.

Authorities identified the man operating the grader as Todd Gloe, 54. He was taken via medical helicopter to Nebraska Medicine, where he's listed in stable condition.

Neither the conductor nor the engineer of the train was hurt.

The sheriff's office said there are no crossing arms or lights at the Capehart Road railroad crossing. Instead, stop signs are used to control traffic. The railroad tracks are curved at the crossing, which prevents a clear line of sight, officials said.

The collision is being investigated by the Sarpy County Sheriff's Office, the La Vista Police Department and BNSF.

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RAIL CROSSING WHERE PERSON WAS CRITICALLY INJURED IS BEING CONSIDERED FOR AN OVERPASS 

A railroad crossing near Gretna where a Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway train and road grader collided Monday is being considered for an overpass, a Sarpy County official said.

“It’s a dangerous crossing, and I said when I was elected that I wanted to see an overpass there,” said Denny Wilson, the Sarpy County engineer. “Right now, the plan for the overpass is being reviewed by Burlington Northern.”

The operator of the road grader, a Sarpy County employee, was flown to the Nebraska Medical Center in critical condition. Wilson said the man, whose name has not been released, was awake and talking coherently at the time he was transported.

The collision occurred at 10:35 a.m. near Capehart Road and 229th Street, said Andy Williams, a BNSF spokesman. A westbound freight train hauling 68 cars was involved but no crew members were injured.

Wilson said the road grader was backed up near the tracks while grading the gravel on Capehart Road and the train “just clipped the rear end of the cab.” Employees, he said, are instructed not to cross the railroad tracks at that point.
Employees are instead told to grade the road on one side of the tracks and then go to a safe crossing and come back to grade the other side.

Wilson said BNSF, the county and the Nebraska Department of Roads are expected to share in the costs for an overpass at the crossing. Construction of the overpass could begin as early as this summer with completion expected in 2016.