Jan. 04--SCHAGHTICOKE -- The driver of a tractor-trailer truck that crashed into a freight train at a village crossing on Friday afternoon appears to be OK, family members said.
The accident happened at about 2 p.m. when the truck, hauling 24 tons of corn to be used by local farmers for feed, couldn't stop as it headed downhill on a slippery Fisherman's Lane -- straight for the oncoming train, family members and officials at the scene said.
The first Norfolk Southern locomotive pulling the train, operated by Pan Am Railways, struck the truck, shearing off the cab from the trailer. The crash forced the truck's cab and the driver into the Hoosic River and left the trailer, smashed, on the northern end of the bridge, officials said.
The driver, a local farmer, was able to get out of the water, officials said, and he was taken to St. Mary's Hospital in Troy.
His condition wasn't available, but the family members said he was not seriously hurt. They declined to provide his name. The family operates a local farm within site of accident scene. The corn is ground into meal and sold to other farms in the area.
No one was injured on the train, which did not derail, said Pan Am Executive Vice President Cynthia Scarano. The train was carrying 29 racks loaded with automobiles, with two intermodal containers at the end, for a total of 31 cars, Scarano said. It couldn't be determined where the eastbound train was headed.
At the scene, the train was moved back, but how long it would remain there was unknown. Some damage to the front of the first of three locomotives could be seen. The crossing at Fisherman's Lane, a single-lane gravel road, has a railroad crossing sign but no gates or lights.
Schaghticoke Fire Chief Mike Jackson said firefighters would be at the scene for a while dealing with the aftermath in the frigid temperatures, including cleaning corn feed off the tracks.
Jackson said he hadn't seen any similar accidents in his experience. Three other departments responded, as did State Police.
[email protected], 518-454-5084, @KennethCrowe
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