NEWBERRY, S.C. — A train derailed near Newberry early Thursday, dumping coal on U.S. 76 and forcing officials to close the highway for most of the day, according to the (Columbia, S.C.) State.
At about 12:10 a.m., 20 cars on the train derailed, two of them directly onto the highway, Newberry County Sheriff Lee Foster said.
No injuries were reported.
The wreckage, including the cleanup of several tons of coal, required authorities to close a 10-mile stretch of the highway, which runs parallel to the railroad tracks, for about 18 hours.
Because of the weather, authorities detoured traffic to I-26 instead of having motorists navigate ice-slick country roads, the sheriff said.
“We just felt it wasn’t safe to put the traffic on the back roads,” Foster said.
CSX Transportation was investigating whether the weather contributed to the accident, Foster said.
The train was en route to South Carolina Gas & Electric’s Wateree Station power plant near Eastover, the sheriff said.