A US tourist train collided with truck, killing one and injuring 66
One person was killed and 66 were injured following a collision Oct. 11 between a logging truck and a tourist train in West Virginia, officials say. 18 people received serious injuries – three of them critical ones, emergency services director Jim Wise tells the Los Angeles Times.
The victims are currently in hospitals receiving treatment. Pocahontas County emergency services director, Shawn Dunbrack, says the accident happened around 1:30 p.m. local time on Friday on Route 250, near Cheat Bridge between Pocahontas and Randolph counties.
Investigators have yet to determine why a logging truck crashed into a train in Randolph County, killing the driver of the truck and injuring dozens of the train’s passengers.
Investigators say the driver was familiar with the road, but there were no signs he attempted to stop.
The driver of the truck worked for H&H Fisher out of Pocahontas County and resided in Pocahontas County.
W.Va. Route 250 will remain closed until at least Saturday morning, as crews take heavy equipment to the remote area to clean up the wreckage.
The crash was reported at 1:28 p.m., but it took responders 30 minutes to reach the scene because the area is so remote.
Passengers started assessing the injured before emergency crews arrived on the scene.
Jimmy Gianato, director of Homeland Security and Emergency Management for the state of West Virginia, who was onsite, praised the work of first responders and hospital staff in handling the massive amount of injured and preventing further fatalities.
