By Desiree Stennett Orlando Sentinel
SunRail train crashes into utility trailer, causes delays.
The SunRail riders who boarded to the northbound train leaving the Sand Lake Road station at 4:45 p.m. Monday had to wait out delays because of a crash this afternoon.
Their SunRail train stopped on the northbound track at Ronald Reagan Boulevard after it struck a utility trailer minutes from the Longwood station, according to Steve Olson, spokesman for the Florida Department of Transportation.
Olson said the driver of a pickup truck was hauling the empty trailer behind him and although the truck cleared the tracks, the trailer did not.
When the train struck it, the trailer whipped around and hit a nearby car, damaging it.
No injures have been reported. The driver of the pickup was ticketed.
SunRail was able to minimize delays because the system of railroad crossovers in Longwood that allow other northbound trains to briefly switch tracks and use the southbound railroad to get around the crash site.
The train involved in the crash is now moving again after a 35-minutes delay while police investigated.
Why does it take so long to investigate these wrecks? I think they took over an hour on the last one. Did the arms come down? yep. Was the trailer on the tracks? yep. Okay. We know the train did not swerve into the trailer so clear the mess, ticket the driver and get train rolling.
Phin Phan