(The Associated Press circulated the following article on May 6.)
CASSELTON, N.D. — A railroad worker was injured when two dozen train cars loaded with soybeans derailed here, pinning him inside a crushed maintenance truck for about 45 minutes.
The worker, identified as Matt Nelson, 23, of Cooperstown, was treated at a Fargo hospital. His injuries appeared minor, authorities and railroad officials said.
”Sounds like it was his lucky day,” Cass County Sheriff’s Sgt. DuWayne Nitschke said.
Another worker riding in the truck escaped with cuts and bruises, Burlington Northern Santa Fe spokesman Gus Melonas said. Both workers are employed by a BNSF subcontractor, he said.
The crew was spraying for weeds along the tracks when the cars tipped over, but Nelson apparently couldn’t escape because the vehicle’s steering wheel was pinned against his legs, Nitschke said.
Nelson waited about 45 minutes before the local fire department removed him from the wreckage, officials said.
The train was headed from East Dubuque, Ill., to Kalama, Wash., when 25 of the 107 cars left the tracks, Melonas said. All but one of the derailed cars tipped over. Each car carries about 110 tons of soybeans, he said.
BNSF planned to open at least one rail line Friday, but some traffic will be rerouted in the meantime, Melonas said. Up to 24 trains use the route daily.
”It’s a main line and we’re developing reroute plans at this point,” he said.
Wrecking equipment was being trucked in from Fargo and Minneapolis to help shove the cars to the side. The total cleanup was expected to take about three weeks, Melonas said.
Officials still are investigating the cause of the derailment, but some portions of the track are being replaced, he said.
A BNSF coal train derailed in Casselton in December, shutting down the east-west line for about a day. The town is about 20 miles west of Fargo.
Nitschke said Thursday’s derailment was ”at that exact same location.” Melonas said he doubted the two accidents were related.
BNSF cleanup crews were reported on their way to the derailment site Thursday afternoon, including a team that would monitor a small spill of weed killer from the maintenance truck, Nitschke said.
”Time is money for them because that’s a pretty major track that goes through Casselton,” he said.