(The following story by Mark Boone appeared on the WCNC website on July 15.)
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A tanker truck loaded with 6,100 gallons of oil was stuck at a railroad crossing and could not be dislodged before it was struck by an oncoming freight train, according to an accident report obtained Tuesday by WCNC.
Friday’s collision at the Cabarrus Farm Road crossing, near University City Boulevard, sparked a fire that spread to one of the train’s freight cars.
The driver of the truck and a worker on the train were transported to Carolinas Medical Center-University. Their injuries were not believed to be serious. The train’s engineer and another worker were not injured.
An accident report compiled by Charlotte-Mecklenburg police did not indicate how long the tractor-trailer had been stuck on the train tracks before the 8:12 a.m. crash.
The train’s engineer sounded a horn and applied the emergency brakes but was unable to stop the 70-car train, the report said.
Records from the Federal Railroad Administration indicate the crash was not the first of its kind at the crossing.
David Pearsall, a Charlotte-based real estate appraiser, said his pickup truck was struck by a freight train as he crossed the tracks on August 17, 2004.
The crossing is on a one-lane, dead-end road which leads to a Duke Energy power substation. The railroad tracks are marked by several signs, but there are no lights, bells, or automated crossing arms to warn of an approaching train.
Pearsall said tall weeds near the crossing blocked his view of the tracks and he never heard the train’s horn.
“If it had sounded, I would have definitely heard it,” he said.
The locomotive struck the front tire of Pearsall’s truck, pushing the vehicle into a ditch. He escaped with bumps and bruises.
“My goal here is to prevent this from happening to someone else,” Pearsall said as he walked near the train crossing Tuesday.
Duke Energy spokesman Andy Thompson said the company would meet with railroad operator Norfolk Southern to discuss the possible addition of lights and automated arms to the crossing.
The warning system typically costs between $180,000 and $350,000 according to Norfolk Southern spokesman Robin Chapman.
Because the crossing is on private property, the land owner would be responsible for paying for the automated system, Chapman said.
Mark Estep, a friend of Pearsall’s who responded to the 2004 crash, said it’s apparent some improvements are needed at the crossing.
“I mean there have been two major wrecks here,” he said. “What are the odds of that?”