(The Lafayette Daily Advertiser posted the following article by Marsha Sills on its website on December 8.)
MIDLAND, La. — A stretch of U.S. Route 90 is closed today after a Union Pacific train crashed into an abandoned 18-wheeler, which caused more than a dozen railroad cars to derail, according to Acadia Parish Sheriff?s officials.
No one was injured in the incident, and there were no evacuations, said Acadia Parish Sheriff?s Lt. Tommy Frease. The highway will be closed until the damage is cleared, which means it probably won?t be open on Tuesday and perhaps longer, authorities said.
The driver had just delivered equipment to an oil rig about a half mile from the tracks when his vehicle stalled.
“(The driver) got hung up on the track,” Frease said. “He abandoned (the truck) to run back to the rig to get help. At that time, he didn?t know the train was coming. By the time the train saw the truck, it didn?t have time to stop.”
Several tankers that usually carry chemicals were among the derailed cars. Although the Louisiana State Police Hazardous Materials Team was called out, no leaks were discovered, said Maxine Trahan, sheriff?s spokeswoman.
The accident occurred about one mile west of Midland, near U.S. 90. The highway will be closed from U.S. 90 at La. 91 in Midland to U.S. 90 at La. 92 in Mermantau as the wreckage is cleared.
The two villages along U.S. Route 90 are mid-way points between the cities of Crowley and Jennings and the thousands of people who live there. The people who drive the major highway will have to find detours this morning.
A command center was set up to direct the clean-up efforts late Sunday.
After the train collided with the semi, it pushed it 250 yards, Trahan said.
The driver was charged with trespassing, because he left the vehicle on the tracks, which are considered private property, Frease said.
The driver?s name was not released.
The tracks are about 50 yards from U.S. Route 90, but the highway will remain closed to help remove the rail cars and for safety reasons, Frease said. The cars will have to be removed by crane.
“We need the highway for the equipment. When they start moving the tankers, if they would have a rupture or an explosion, it would take care of 90,” Frease said.
He said the nearest house was about a mile from the wreck site.
Union Pacific began bringing equipment Sunday to help with removing the wreckage.