(The following story by Sherry Long appeared on The Times Leader website on October 1, 2010.)
The Saturday afternoon crash took place on railroad company property, a spokeswoman says.
PLAINS TWP. – A Wilkes-Barre man suffered non-life threatening injuries when an all-terrain vehicle he was riding was involved in a crash with a Canadian Pacific train in Plains Township Saturday afternoon.
Brandon Cook, 23, of North Washington Street, appeared to be riding on the narrow side of the path near the tracks when the train passed by, Plains Township police officer Ed Asbury said.
The crash occurred about 3:35 p.m. near the Cross Valley Expressway overpass at the Wilkes-Barre and Plains Township border. Emergency response vehicles stopped on the Wilkes-Barre side of the train tracks intersecting Main Street heading from Wilkes-Barre to Plains Township.
Due to the rough terrain, an ambulance was not able to reach Cook. So Asbury used a township department four-wheel drive sport utility vehicle to arrive at the crash site, load Cook in the trunk area and transport him to Main Street where first responders were waiting to load him onto a stretcher and transport him to Geisinger Wyoming Valley Medical Center in Plains Township.
Canadian Pacific Railway spokeswoman Breanne Feigel said the two-member crew saw Cook hit the side of the train at the fifth car.
She said the crew members then stopped the train and called for help. The crash occurred on railroad company property.
“Unfortunately this individual was trespassing on railway property. He was driving his vehicle somewhere he shouldn’t have been, which is always a safety concern for us. Our train crews aren’t expecting to have these situations happen. It was not at a crossing,” Feigel said.
The train remained on the track until about 6:45 p.m. Saturday as Canadian Pacific Railway law enforcement officials investigated at the scene. The train carrying containers with consumer goods and empty grain cars was headed northbound to Binghamton, N.Y., from Allentown.
About an hour after the incident, other ATVs could be heard riding through the area.
“It is quite common on any given day you will have multiple ATVs back there riding around. It is a very popular trail system through there,” Asbury said.
Plains Township police assisted until the Canadian Pacific Railway law enforcement officials arrived. Police said Cook’s injuries were non-life threatening.
Canadian Pacific Railway Special Agent Michael Savokinas said the crash is still under investigation.