(The following article by Janice Morse and Michael D. Clark was posted on the Cincinnati Enquirer website on June 15.)
MASON, Ohio — In a pair of freak accidents that stunned police and bystanders, a runaway railroad boxcar struck two vehicles, injuring three children and their parents along with another motorist Tuesday.
Joe O’Gorman was pumping gasoline into his vehicle when he realized something strange was happening at Tylersville and Reading roads. “I heard an incredible bang,” he said, “And I turned around and saw the minivan spinning into the intersection. After I realized it had been hit by a train car, I was wondering how in the world it got there – and how was it moving so fast.”
Police had not released the names of the people who were hurt in the crashes, which happened just after 5 p.m. Tuesday.
O’Gorman, 41, was on his way home from work when he saw the crash while at the United Dairy Farmers gasoline pump. He called 911 and was among about 15 people who tried to help and comfort the injured family.
“The back of the van was completely ripped off. It’s an image that sticks with you,” he said.
Police Officer Scott Miller said security cameras at the UDF captured the incident – and when he watched the tape, he was stunned at the force of the impact.
Authorities say the runaway open-top boxcar, loaded with lumber, had somehow rolled away from where it was parked on a main line near PortionPac Inc. on Snider Road.
As a locomotive gave chase, the boxcar struck the minivan at Tylersville, then sped north and struck the second vehicle near Mason Lumber.
After the collisions, the boxcar continued to travel northeast out of Mason for about four miles before derailing near Hagemans Crossing off U.S. 42 in Warren County’s Union Township, about halfway between Mason and Lebanon.
Emergency crews “started to fan out along the tracks to get people away,” said Frank Young, Warren County’s director of emergency services.
If the boxcar had made its way into downtown Lebanon, authorities feared there could have been many more wrecks.
When the boxcar went off the tracks, it tore up about 50 feet of track, said Deerfield Township Fire Chief William Kramer.
Officials of the Indiana & Ohio Railway declined to comment, and authorities weren’t sure how long it would take for crews to remove the spilled lumber and the wrecked boxcar.
The victim from the boxcar’s collision with a car on West Main Street was taken to Bethesda North Hospital with injuries that did not appear to be life-threatening, police said.
A medical helicopter took one young crash victim from the Tylersville accident to Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center while ambulances transported the other two children. Their parents were treated at the scene for minor injuries.