Amtrak Pedimont incident

[metsfan]

Chelsi Zash Created: 5/13/2010 8:06:45 AM Updated: 5/13/2010 11:54:17 AM

 

Mebane, NC -- Emergency crews are on the scene of wreck involving an Amtrak train.

 

Mebane Police say the wreck happened around 8:00 am on the Amtrak tracks at 5th Street and Center Street.

 

The train, Train No. 73, which was headed from Raleigh to Charlotte, hit a tractor-trailer carrying a CAT brand excavator. The engine of the train has signs of fire damage. The locomotive and three coach cars derailed.

 

The truck driver says her lowboy trailer was stuck on the tracks. The driver was able to escape. The truck carrying the equipment belongs to Lazaro Contracting Incorporated Demolish and Clearing.

 

NCDOT says there are warning signs in the area and the truck should not have been trying to cross the tracks. Investigators estimate the train was going about 70 mph when it hit the tractor-trailer.

 

 

Amtrak says 36 passengers were onboard. No crew members were injured. The engineer was not seriously injured and did not have to be transported to the hospital.

 

Kyle Buckner, Chief with Alamance County Rescue, says emergency crews treated people on the scene. WFMY News 2's Justin Quesinberry says he saw at least three people on stretchers.

 

At least 10 passengers were transported between Duke Hospital, Alamance Regional Hospital and UNC Hospitals. Amtrak claims 12 passengers and one crew member were transported.

 

At least five of those were transported by Alamance County EMS, four by Alamance County Rescue, and one by Orange County EMS. Seven of the transported went to Alamance Regional Hospital with non-life threatening injuries. Several other passengers reported minor injuries.

 

Trooper Ingram with the NC Highway Patrol says crews are also working to clean spilled diesel at the scene and detouring traffic.

 

A passenger on the train tells WFMY News 2 she was in the bathroom when she felt the impact. She said she jumped from one of the car windows to escape, despite crews telling everyone to stay seated.

 

Other passengers describe the train shaking violently and seeing a plume of smoke travel down the side of the train.

 

The area will remain closed for an undetermined amount of time.

 

To detour from US 70 Eastbound:

 

Turn left on 2nd Street and travel to E. Graham Street. Turn right and travel 1.5 miles to N. 9th Street. Turn right and folllow N. 9th Street back to US 70 East. US 70 Westbound: Turn right on N. 9th Street and travel to E. Graham Street. Turn left on E. Graham Street. Follow E. Graham 1.5 miles to N. 2nd Street. Turn left on N. 2nd Street and follow back to US 70 West.

 

Previous Train Wrecks

 

This is not the first wreck involving a train in the Alamance and Orange Counties. In December 2009, a woman and her son died when their car was hit by an Amtrak train in Orange County. Investigators say she drove under the crossing arm while on her cell phone.

 

On February 24 of this year, a woman escaped serious injury at the same intersection when her van was hit by a Norfolk Southern train. In that wreck, her van got wedged between the safety arms and couldn't get off the tracks.

 

http://www.digtriad.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=142102&catid=57&hpt=T2

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People need to respect grade crossings, and treat them as potential incident sites and act with an abundance of caution. If the vehicle got stuck, amtrak operations should have been contacted.

 

- A

[GojiMet86]

Glad no one was hurt.

[KeystoneRegional]

Please, watch the Nazi Banksters Crimes Ripple Effect at http://jforjustice.co.uk/banksters

[Murjax]

From what I understand about those trucks they aren't allowed to drive over grade crossings. If this is true then it's kinda the driver's responsibility to know that whether or not a sign exists telling them that.

 

In any case this was not your run of the mill train/truck collision. The locomotive was seriously damaged, probably beyond repair. They're lucky nothing serious happened to the passengers and crew.

 

Here's a few pictures of the wreck. http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/archivethumbs.aspx?id=56629

[theaveragejoe]

http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=324244&nseq=6

[metsfan]

You know it doesn't look too bad, just the short nose and the steps and stuff are damaged, i'm thinking it may be repaired.

 

- A

[Murjax]

You know it doesn't look too bad, just the short nose and the steps and stuff are damaged, i'm thinking it may be repaired.

 

- A

 

Yes, the body of the locomotive isn't too bad. However the engine inside was cooking for quite a while after the collision so it really all depends on the damage it received.

[theaveragejoe]

Yes, the body of the locomotive isn't too bad. However the engine inside was cooking for quite a while after the collision so it really all depends on the damage it received.

 

Worse case I seen them buying another ex GO F59PH to replace this unit if it cant be fixed