Friday, June 5, 2015

AMTRAK TEXAS EAGLE TRAIN COLLIDES WITH SEMI-TRUCK CARRYING TONS OF BACON IN ILLINOIS; NO INJURIES REPORTED YET







JUNE 5, 2015

WILMINGTON, ILLINOIS

An Amtrak train collided Friday afternoon with a tractor-trailer carrying 70,000 pounds of bacon that was obstructing the tracks, officials said.

The train was passing through Wilmington, southwest of Chicago, when it collided with a truck near Illinois Route 53 and River Road. The trailer of the truck was overturned and split open, with its contents strewn about an embankment. The cab of the truck was separated from the trailer and came to rest on the opposite side of the train.

There was no immediate word of injuries to crew or passengers, but 10 ambulances were called to the scene.

The train, Texas Eagle Train 22, left San Antonio on Thursday bound for Chicago, passing through St. Louis earlier Friday morning. The collision means Train 302, which was already more than four hours late as of 5 p.m., is delayed even further.

Passenger Sam Herwitz said there was an impact followed by confusion when the train stopped and there were no crew announcements for about 20 minutes.

"No one knew exactly what we were supposed to do. We didn't really know if we'd hit something or we had just done a brake-check kind of thing," he told NBC Chicago.

Herwitz said another passenger next to him bumped his head on the seat in front of him and that he saw a woman transported to an ambulance. The driver of the tractor-trailer, he said, walked away from the crash. 

"There's boxes everywhere. But somehow the driver was OK," he said. "The truck that hit the train is in pieces."

Herwitz said passengers were being shuttled on buses to Wilmington High School.

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An Amtrak train traveling from Texas to Chicago with 203 passengers aboard collided with a truck near Wilmington, Illinois, on Friday but there were no immediate reports of injuries, the railroad said.

The Texas Eagle, also known as Train No. 22, en route from San Antonio, hit a tractor trailer on the tracks about 50 miles south of Chicago, at about 4 p.m., said Amtrak spokesman Craig Schulz.

He said there were no serious injuries to passengers or crew, and no immediate information about the truck driver.

A photograph posted to ABC News' website showed the impact of the collision knocked the truck on its side on the roadway and peeled away the trailer's roof. The overturned truck was outside a crossing gate that appeared to be closed.

The 203 passengers aboard were transported to a local high school while the tracks were checked for damages.

The rails, signals and other equipment in that area are owned by Union Pacific Railroad , Schulz said.

The collision is one of series of recent passenger train accidents that have heightened concern about the safety of the U.S. rail system.

In February, a crowded Metro-North commuter train slammed into a sport-utility vehicle on the tracks at a crossing in Valhalla, New York, north of New York City. The fiery crash and explosion killed seven people, injured a dozen and forced the evacuation of hundreds.

Just last month, an Amtrak train traveling at more than 100 miles per hour derailed north Philadelphia, killing eight people and injuring more than 200.
The Texas Eagle was being held in Wilmington for an investigation, Schulz said.
As soon as damage assessment is completed in Illinois, officials will decide how to transport the passengers to their final destination, Schulz said.
Source: http://www.nbcchicago.com