Friday, March 27, 2015

TRAIN CRUSHES SEMI-TRUCK CARRYING A $300,000 MCLAREN, WHEN THE TRUCK STUCK ON ORANGE PARK TRACKS















MARCH 27, 2015

ORANGE PARK, FLORIDA

No one was hurt after a train hit a semi truck hauling some expensive cargo stranded on the tracks in Orange Park Friday morning, authorities said.

According to a spokesperson for the Clay County Sheriff's Office, the semi's driver called the Sheriff's Office about 7:50 a.m. and told dispatchers he had gotten stuck on the tracks near Doctors Lake Drive and Greenride Road and was about to get hit by the train.

The train, which was moving slowly, struck the semi and pushed it down the tracks, but never derailed, Sheriff's spokesperson Mary Justino told First Coast News. The train wound up going straight through the truck, separating the cab and trailer.

Nobody was hurt, but the Florida Highway Patrol is investigating. There was a hefty bit of collateral damage in the crash as a sports car the trailer was carrying was mangled during the crash. The McLaren MP412C, estimated to cost about $300,000, was being hauled by Dimmitt Automotive Group.

The semi's driver, who declined to identify himself, told Shelby Danielsen he called 911 and pleaded with them to stop the train. Three minutes after he got out of the cab, though, the train struck the semi.

Justino told First Coast News some long semi trucks have a tendency to "belly out" at rail crossings, causing them to get stuck on the tracks.

The accident has also delayed two Amtrak trains out of New York, both bound for Miami, each with about 230 people on board, officials tell FCN. One will be stalled on the tracks, the other will remain at the station.
http://www.firstcoastnews.com