ELKTON, S.D. — Two people were killed Friday when their vehicle crashed through a crossing-gate arm and struck a moving train, setting the vehicle on fire and derailing the train into a grain elevator, the Mitchell Republic reports.
The incident occurred about 7 p.m. at a grade crossing on the Rapid City, Pierre & Eastern Railroad at State Route 13 in Elkton, near the Minnesota state line and about 15 miles southeast of Brookings, S.D. The two occupants of the vehicle, a 2011 Kia Sorrento, were trapped in the vehicle and were unable to escape, the South Dakota Highway Patrol reports. Information on the occupants has not been released.
Images on the KELO website indicate at least a dozen railcars derailed. No injuries to the train crew were reported. The South Dakota Highway Patrol continues to investigate the incident.
As a retired class 1, I have empathy for the train crews and the families of this accident. Please be considerate in your responding.
Ed Burns
Authorities said that S.D. 13 was closed for multiple hours as law enforcement worked the scene of the crash, but Cornell Avenue in Elkton will remain closed for several days as train cars are removed from the area. The South Dakota Highway Patrol continues to investigate the accident.
Dr. Güntürk Üstün
I hope there wasn’t any crude oil in the train especially with the vehicle catching on fire
Should be a short accident report. Car ran through crossing gate, struck train and derailed same. No citations issued. End of report.
Two names added to south Dakota auto fatality report.
I have no sympathy for people who try to beat trains.
Or don’t pay attention to safety appliances like downed crossing gates. They might have been talking on a cell phone instead of concentrating on their driving, especially where they crashed thru the gate arm and struck the moving train..
Bad luck for the 9 year old RCPE!
Dr. Güntürk Üstün
I’m starting to believe that the good doctor is an AI Bot. It has all of the familiarity of one anyway and if not then I apologize. But there are just too many coincidences not to be.
Oh , I think you are right
If you Google Dr. Güntürk Üstün you will find he indeed a doctor and follows several areas of transportation. By coincidence I looked him up before I read your comments.
In either case, most of his comments are redundant, disingenuous and totally unnecessary.
I find Dr. Ustun’s comments often helpful. He fills us in on details that many of you commenters assume everyone knows.
On this railfan/ rail transportation follower forum (as opposed to say, mainstream newspapers) most posters (me included) use our actual names. So we have to be a bit careful what we say about each other. One person looked me up several years ago and we became acquainted (on his initiative) and in fact met for tea by the tracks earlier this month.
There’s another person that I posted to him that I think we met years ago trainspotting. So no we’re not exactly anonymous.
As for Dr. Ustun, I looked him up on the Internet. He has a number of interesting areas of expertise that are beyond my own experience and certainly beyond my own ethnic or cultural understanding. He has a right to post about American trains. Others have a right to skip over his comments.
Could it be a BNSF train that went off the rails?
Dr. Güntürk Üstün
Did you even read the article…it clearly states it was a Rapid City, Pierre and Eastern train that was HIT BY A CAR THAT DROVE THROUGH LOWERED CROSSING GATES!
Another exemplary tragic road-railway accident. Condolences to the families of those who lost their lives.
Dr. Güntürk Üstün
No condolences for idiots…either to drunk to try and stop or just a couple of plain stupid people. I have no sympathy for people like those or their families. I wouldn’t expect sympathy if it I was in the same situation.
Darwin Award candidates.
Remember Geralald, one of then was only along for the ride and had no part in the decision to proceed.
Since when do the families not receive any sympathy? All the family members of every person, that either causes damage or death by accident, ignorance or malice, are to blame? Sometimes I wonder who are the biggest idiots here, the ones in the news or these commenters.
Condolences to the train crew members.