(The Arizona Republic posted the following article by Carlos Miller on its website on May 22.)
PHOENIX — Two freight trains traveling in the opposite direction on parallel tracks collided in southwestern Arizona on Wednesday after one jumped the tracks and hit the other.
The wreck dumped 41 rail cars and two locomotives into the desert. There were no serious injuries.
“Heat may have caused the rails to expand,” said Chief David Birchfield of the Gila River Fire District. “But that is just speculation right now.”
Mark Davis, a spokesman for Union Pacific, which owns both trains, said there were no signs of sabotage.
The incident occurred about 3 p.m. near Sentinel, about 115 miles southwest of Phoenix.
None of the four people on the two trains was seriously injured, but one person was airlifted to a Valley hospital.
The trains were traveling on parallel tracks at about 40 to 50 mph when the westbound locomotive left the tracks and rammed into the center of the eastbound train, Birchfield said.
One train, traveling between Laredo, Texas, and Long Beach, Calif., was carrying appliances and automobiles. The other train, which originated in Los Angeles and was bound for Chicago, was empty.
Heavy equipment and crews were expected to work throughout the night to remove the wrecked cars from the tracks along Interstate 8, Davis said.
Meanwhile, other trains were being rerouted.