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