(The Times-Mail published the following story by Diana Wires on its website on October 23.)
MITCHELL, Ind. — A CSX train derailed underneath the Teke Burton Drive overpass today, but no one was injured.
The accident occurred at about 6:10 a.m. when a dozen cars carrying automobiles derailed.
The incident occurred on a single main track, according to David Hall, spokesperson for CSX.
Cars 25 to 36 of the 41-car train derailed.
One car was tipped about halfway over and the car behind it, another of the yellow and silver Union Pacific cars, was completely on its side. One out of the two sets of wheels on the car was completely off, and a large piece of the shiny broken track was beside it.
“The first process will be to get the derailed cars off the track, and then they’ll repair it,” Hall said.
A crowd of onlookers was gathering on the Teke Burton overpass at about 9 a.m. They leaned over the white stone barriers to get a glimpse of the wreckage.
Mark Duncan, an onlooker from Mitchell, was on the tracks not long after the accident. He said he saw the “brand new cars” in the train.
Hall said the accident is under investigation, and the cause had not been determined.
The train was heading from Louisville, Ky., to St. Louis, Mo.
The tracks were lined with woods and had houses on the north side, and Dana Corporation on the south.
Cars had to be pulled off of the tracks using large machinery that was brought on site with flatbed semi-trucks.
Another derailment occurred in Orleans last November. After negotiations with CSX, town officials decided to close that crossing in September.