Trucker tries to cross tracks, gets hit by a freight train
SALEM, Ore. - A semi-truck's cab was ripped apart when the driver headed across railroad tracks and was hit by a freight train.
The crash happened just after 10 a.m. Friday on Brooklake Road Northeast in Salem.
The driver, 56-year-old Allen Parks of Amity, survived the crash with head and leg injuries. He is now hospitalized in stable condition. No one else was injured.
According to the Marion County Sheriff's Office, the truck driver had just left a loading dock and was heading towards some adjacent railroad tracks when he failed to yield to the freight train.
The train's operator said he was unable to stop in time and the impact overturned the truck and trailers.
The truck driver, who works for Simplot Soilbuilders out of Halsey, had just picked up a load of ammonium sulfate fertilizer and some of it ended up spilling. The truck also lost some of its diesel fuel. The county sent out a crew to clean up the spills.
The crossing is on private property and is not controlled by a signal device.
Portland & Western Railroad will be investigating the crash.
Why did the trucker cross the tracks? Oh wait he did not make it
Well, that was stupid. Trains ALWAYS win at chicken.
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@feral Everything should be illegal.
What a moron!! He must have watched too many Walt Disney cartoons as a child and always wished he could be just lie 'Goofy.' Yup, yup, that train can stop on a dime - Holy Crap!!!! My guess is the driver of the semi forget about f = d/dt(mv) and he lost...
Trains always win these type of confrontations.
@Saltire But one little hairline fracture in the track and adiós train.
Epic fail...
Train tracks are just that! If in doubt, stop and look! Trains can't stop suddenly, but trucks can!
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From the looks of this location, the truck driver had to cross the tracks to get to where he was going. Â The tracks were still there when he left. Â Too many times, because people haven't seen a train on the tracks before, makes them think the tracks aren't used. Â Any time there is a railroad track, you better expect a train. Â If you don't, ask the driver of this truck what can happen. Â He is lucky enough to be able to tell you. Â Others have not been so lucky.
Given this location -Â http://goo.gl/maps/bixxK - and more details in other articles, it may not have been as "stupid" as one might think, were they assuming a typical crossing ON a road. This kind of setup looks more like train tracks going through part of the parking lot - generally, pretty much level with the surface, and the surface even between the tracks. If he wasn't familiar with it, might be easy to miss.Â
(I was curious enough to look and see what the location was like - there are numerous areas along the Mt. Hood Railway where I could imagine something similar happening, and they often have a low level of track visibility due to the buildings around them. )
Democrat Herald -Â http://democratherald.com/news/headlines/truck-driver-injured-in-collision-with-freight-train-near-brooks/article_8cc698a6-882e-11e2-99b1-001a4bcf887a.html
Fox 12 -Â http://www.kptv.com/story/21557417/driver-hurt-truck-destroyed-after-freight-train-collision
Statesman Journal -Â http://www.statesmanjournal.com/article/20130308/UPDATE/130308022/
I know this crossing very well - it is a private crossing, and there are no warning devices. So it's up to the driver to pay attention, and there aren't many trains that use these tracks, so it's easy to get careless. I bet he won't be so careless in the future - he was very lucky to survive!!
My wife is a local rail driver. She picks up from and delivers to Union Pacific and BNSF here in Portland. She always has to be on her toes when moving about the rail yards. Sorry to say some truck drivers sometimes get in to big of a hurry. Glad to hear the driver will be ok. I'm sure he will no longer have a job though.
Dumb ass.
i hope he has a full recovery.
article states he did not yield, yet also says he could not stop. As a spouse of a trucker I am familiar to how the tracks are set up at many customers' operations, so hopefully the comments of people here will not be taken seriously. They are from people who just need to be snarky.
@randompersoncommenting"... article states he did not yield, yet also says he could not stop..."
 Hi, thought I'd give you a little assistance...
The train's operator said he was unable to stop in time and the impact overturned the truck and trailers.
Â
Mr. Parks should not be allowed to drive on the highways ever again !
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@portlandborn83Â This was ammonium sulfate, not ammonium nitrate. This stuff is much more stable.
Parks and Wreck.
Todays genius award goes to
The engineer had a front row seat to a train wreck. Thinking look at that dumb A
You just do not see hit and run with trains
Wow! He is lucky to have survived. Agree with everyone else...not a smart move on the (probably former) truck drivers part.
What a moron.
"Nothing can stop a Trane". Trane was right! Trains have a huge amount of physics behind them. It's ridiculous for people to try and beat them, just to save a couple of minutes.Â
Mr Parks just lost his job (rightfully so), andSimplot Soilbuilders insurance rates just went up in addition to whatever cleanup costs they end up incurring.Â
All because some Class A driver was in a hurry.Â
Not a very wise choice, Mr Parks.Â
Not sure why everyone assumes that he lost his job or license - I doubt that was the outcome, being that he was on private property and no one was hurt but him.
"The truck driver, who works for Simplot Soil Builders out of Halsey, ..."
Most likely you can change "works" to "worked" in the very near future. It doesn't pay to attempt to beat the train, especially if you are in a truck. And, if he didn't see the train he had no business being behind the wheel.
@I812Â I would assume that ammonium sulfate falls under the heading of hazardous materials, as such there is a legal requirement that he stop at all uncontrolled RR crossings. He may very well lose his license, or at the very least his Haz Mat endorsement, as a result as well.Â
"...hit by a freight train." "The train's conductor said he was unable to stop in time..." I'm no expert, so I am curious if freight trains even have conductors. If they do, would the conductor be the one who would stop the train? Sounds like tthat would be up to the engineer.
@HenryBowman http://www.american-rails.com/freight-train-conductor.html
He's in charge of the entire crew. He's the captain of the ship, so to speak. Thought the link was a great resource.Â
@washcomom @HenryBowman My ex was a brakeman for the SP until he retired...there are several "categories" of conductor...the one on freight trains rules the roost...he oversees the whole thing. While an engineer is the senior man of the crew, it's still the conductor who runs it all. Also...it can sometimes take an engine up to a mile to come to a stop depending on the speed.
Yeah you don't want those two to mix do you?
@old_dollor Not sure about Ammonium Sulfate - but Ammonium Nitrate and diesel sure makes a lively mix!
They do not share characteristics.
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=new-nonexplosive-fertilizer