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