NEW IBERIA, La. — Two locomotives and 20 cars of a BNSF train derailed on Monday evening after the train struck a truck at a grade crossing near New Iberia.
While KLFY-TV reported one crew member had been taken to a hospital after the 5 p.m. incident, BNSF said in a Tuesday statement that no crew members were injured. The truck driver was uninjured. Three cars of acrylic acid were among those that derailed, but no leaks occurred; seven cars of polymer plastic also derailed with some spilling of their load, but authorities said that poses no hazard. Residents in the immediate area of the derailment were evacuated, but the Iberia Parish Sheriff’s Office reports the evacuation was lifted by late Monday night.
Video captured by a passer-by shows the truck partially blocking the grade crossing with a crossing gate arm resting on the cab moments before the collision occurs.
The incident occurred about 5 miles northwest of New Iberia and about a dozen miles southeast of central Lafayette, La., on BNSF’s Lafayette Subdivision.
— Updated at 6:20 p.m. CDT with information from BNSF.
I don’t know if statistics would bear out the fact of more collisions. I worked in law enforcement and then over thirty + years working for Class 1’s and there have always been these types of collisions/accidents/derailments. There is just more coverage as the news people want to be the first to see if there will be another PA and they can be the first on the scene for an exclusive. After working a derailment in the late 70’s I’d call HQ and ask what derailment I had to go to next. An eastern Iowa newspaper had an article about a boxcar shortage for the local Quaker Oats plant and on the same page there was a picture of a derailment with boxcars piled up, so this isn’t new.
According to a statement from BNSF, a train hit a tractor-trailer rig as the truck was crossing the tracks at Airport Boulevard. About 20 rail cars and two locomotives carrying freight were derailed in the crash. The railroad crossing is equipped with gates, lights and bells. The cause of the incident is under investigation.
Dr. Güntürk Üstün
Looks to me like the gate arm is behind the load at the time of the crash.
The drivers should always lose their CDLs.
Is there a rising trend of commercial vehicle train collisions?
It seems so.
Dr. Güntürk Üstün