(The following story appeared on the Parkersburg News and Sentinel website on February 13.)
PARKERSBURG, W.Va. — The river barge “The Donna York” struck the Parkersburg-Belpre train bridge Thursday evening, shutting down train traffic for more than an hour.
Parkersburg police Cpt. S.D. Holland said the U.S. Coast Guard notified his department about 5 p.m. Thursday that “The Donna York” had recently “grazed” the train bridge. Police and CSX officials then responded to the scene, but the barge was nowhere to be seen when they arrived.
Neither Holland nor USCG officials said they could comment on which way “The Donna York” was heading on the Ohio River or what it was carrying.
CSX officials deemed the bridge safe to cross around 6:30 p.m.