(The following story by Bianca Prieto appeared on the Orlando Sentinel website on March 18.
ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — All lanes on East Landstreet Road near South Orange Avenue were reopened around 7:30 this morning after a crash involving a cargo train and a tractor-trailer late Monday closed the intersection for more than eight hours.
The train’s conductor who was riding in the rear of the train was seriously injured, Florida Highway Patrol spokeswoman Trooper Kim Miller.
Conductor James Robinson, of Orlando, was taken to Orlando Regional Medical Center with serious injuries. His condition was not immediately available.
Troopers are sorting through the evidence to determine what caused the collision. It is unknown whether the crossing bars and lights were working.
Morel Paul, 48, of Bradenton, was driving a 1995 GMC tractor-trailer and was stopped at the crossing around 10:50 p.m. He said the arms went up and he started to cross the tracks when the train, which was backing up, crashed into him, Miller said.
The back of the train hit the driver’s side of the semi, forcing it to roll over and causing it to briefly catch fire. Paul was able to escape with only minor injuries, Miller said. He was treated at ORMC.
Orange County firefighters were on the scene within four minutes and were able to extinguish the fire under the semi, said Genevieve Pugh, Orange County Fire Rescue spokeswoman.
The fire was sparked by diesel fuel that spilled when the semi’s fuel tank ruptured. A hazmat crew was called out to the scene because it was feared that the train or semi was hauling hazardous materials, Pugh said.
The train was hauling resin, a non-toxic product, and the semi had general merchandise, according to Orange County Fire Rescue.
The length of the train challenged the firefighters who had to maneuver around the 24 cars.
“The biggest challenge was the length of the train. Because the train had approximately 24 cars, it made it difficult to get around easily,” said Assistant Chief Jeff Holton in a statement. “Full command had to be set up on both sides of the train and the command officers had to be in constant contact with each other to let each other know what was happening on either side of the train.”
The train’s engineer, Robert Wigton, 38, of Orlando, who was riding at the front of the train, was not injured.
Several witnesses at the scene have given conflicting statements about what happened, Miller said.
“We are still determining the chain of events,” Miller said.
Charges have not been filed, but are pending, Miller said.
The intersection was cleared for morning traffic, but CSX officials were still investigating at the scene around 8 a.m. The crash should no longer affect traffic.