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.