(The following article by Joanne Hammer was posted on the Terre Haute Tribune-Star website on February 7.)
SULLIVAN, Ind. — A CSX train derailed Monday on Sullivan’s east side after it crashed into a tractor-trailer that became stuck on the tracks.
The driver of the tractor-trailer, John J. Vela, 48, was traveling east on Washington Street about 7:30 a.m. when the trailer portion dragged and became stuck in the middle of the tracks, said Gary Cooper, assistant chief for the Sullivan Police Department.
Vela, who owns Jay’s Trucking, was transporting a 15-ton front-end loader from Carlisle to Mundy’s Salvage Yard east of Sullivan. He was not injured but went to Sullivan County Community Hospital as a precaution, a family member said.
When Vela’s tractor-trailer could not move forward, he attempted to call police in hopes of stopping possible train traffic. In a matter of minutes, he saw a train approaching southbound and jumped out of the truck.
The train hit the front-end loader and trailer, dragging it more than 300 feet, Cooper said. The force of the impact caused the two engines to derail.
The first engine jackknifed toward the northeast and rested in the center of Maxwell Street, a few yards west of the city’s water tower.
The front-end loader owned by Fort Wayne-based OmniSource Corp. landed on the west side of the tracks after the impact.
“I thank God he got out,” said Tammy Arroyo, the wife of Vela’s brother-in-law.
Police said the train’s conductor and engineer were taken to the hospital. They were not injured, said CSX spokeswoman Kimberly Skorniak.
Many residents in nearby houses heard the impact.
Nicole Swallows, who lives a few houses east of the tracks, thought she was dreaming when she heard the noise. When her sister ran into her room, she realized it was not a dream, she said.
“It sounded like a train hitting a brick wall,” Swallows said.
Joe Readle, a salesman for Wabash Foodservice, was outside putting his laptop in his car when he heard the crash and saw nearby utility poles shake. His house sits about 200 yards east of the railroad tracks.
“I saw the engine headlight and cab light and thought it was a total derailment,” said Readle, who called 911. “The light posts shook, the street lights went out, flickered once and stayed off.”
Some nearby residents, like Ashley Howard, slept through the accident but planned to watch the clean-up process during the afternoon.
“I called her and she didn’t know about it,” said Howard’s mother, Marilynn Kennett, as she stood on her daughter’s porch in the 500 block of Jackson Street.
The train was carrying merchandise and had 37 full carloads and 44 empty cars, Skorniak said. It departed from Avon and was headed to Nashville, Tenn. By Monday afternoon, a crane was placing the engines back on the tracks.
For most of the day, Washington, Depot and Prince streets were closed to traffic and vehicles were rerouted onto Chaney Street, Cooper said.
On Monday, Sullivan residents said the Washington Street crossing often has deep holes near the track.
“It’s been an ongoing problem,” said Amy Loudermilk, Sullivan health and safety inspector. The city had planned to meet with CSX this week to discuss repairing the crossing, she said.
The date of the crossing’s last repair was not available from CSX by press time.
The track was expected to function normally by 10 p.m. and until then, other routes were delayed, Skorniak said. CSX mechanics and engineers will conduct an investigation that includes the inspection of the track, train mechanisms and the company’s operating procedures, she said.