(The Associated Press circulated the following article on August 10.)
CALVERT CITY, Ky. — A train going through western Kentucky crashed into several coal cars Thursday, leaving three railroad employees injured, a company official said.
The Paducah and Louisville Railway, Inc., train with five engines ran into the back of the cars, which were in the process of being switched, P and L spokesman Tom Garrett said. It happened in Calvert City, which is about 20 miles east of Paducah.
The train’s operator was taken to a hospital in Evansville, Ind., where he remained Thursday afternoon. Two other P and L employees were treated and released for minor injuries, Garrett said. The employees’ names weren’t immediately released.
Two of the five engines derailed and the others derailed partially. The train cars that were hit were damaged “fairly significantly,” Garrett said.
P and L officials were trying to determine what caused the train to run into the cars, and planned to clear the track.
“We have double track there, so we are able to operate now at least partially,” Garrett said, adding that the tracks would be back to normal within 24 hours.
Garrett said the company operates daily in Calvert City, where several manufacturing facilities are customers. The Paducah and Louisville Railway operates between Paducah and Louisville.