(The following article by Fernando Diaz, Gary Craig and Greg Livadas was posted on the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle website on January 17.)
EAST ROCHESTER, N.Y. — A train derailed on a cold and snowy Tuesday night, sending freight cars into front yards and others tumbling from a bridge.
Mayor David Bonacchi said there was no indication that anyone was hurt or killed in the accident.
Hundreds of residents poured out into the darkened streets after the accident as snow fell and the temperature dipped into the teens.
About 150 area customers were without power initially because of the accident, said Rochester Gas and Electric spokesman Dick Marion. An additional 450 lost power when homes had to be de-energized for safety. Crews planned to work throughout the night to restore power.
The westbound train with about a dozen cars was headed from Syracuse to Buffalo and traveling about 60 mph when it left the tracks about 7 p.m. As the train crossed an overpass at South Lincoln Road, the engineers heard a loud bang, and “they immediately tried to stop because they knew the cars were being derailed behind them,” said Bonacchi.
Officials said all but the locomotives left the tracks. The wreckage extended along East Maple Avenue and East Chestnut Street, past the Lincoln Road bridge, where one motorist narrowly escaped being crushed by the cars that spilled over the edge and onto the road below.
“I would have been dead,” said Dylan Soliz, 18, of Macedon, Wayne County, who threw his pickup truck into reverse to avoid the debris.
Downed power lines draped over snow-covered lawns along East Maple, where witnesses said they saw a flash before their electricity went out.
“All of a sudden everything started shaking really bad,” said Kelly Diakogiannis, 24, who at the time was sitting on a bed in her home on Chestnut Street, which is parallel to East Maple.
Emergency personnel went door to door along East Maple, where cars were also apparently crushed, to check on the safety of residents.
East Rochester Fire Chief Ray Cerretti said the debris, mostly paper products, spread over three blocks. Most of the train’s cars were empty. According to the train’s manifest, no hazardous materials were on board.
Standing on their street with scores of onlookers, Diakogiannis’ husband, Jim, 29, offered hot chocolate to emergency personnel and passers-by.
“The house will shake a bit” when the trains pass by, he said, “but not to the point where it scares us.”
CSX spokesman Gary Sease said the mainline tracks would be shut down for some time as investigators clear the wreckage and attempt to determine the cause of the derailment. Trains can use the alternate West Shore Line to the south.
Officials from the state Department of Environmental Conservation will inspect all of the cars to ensure no hazardous materials were present, said Regional Director Sean Hanna.
Since 2001, there have been seven derailments in Monroe County, according to the Federal Railroad Administration. Three occurred in 2004, one in 2003 and three in 2001, according to the statistics, which are up to date through October.
Two eastbound trains were involved in a memorable East Rochester derailment on the morning of Oct. 29, 1969, crushing cars and spilling potatoes on West Maple near the Washington Street overpass.