(The Progress-Index posted the following article by Jennifer Francis on its website on May 20.)
DINWIDDIE, Va. — A 57-year-old Petersburg man was killed yesterday when the propane gas truck he was driving was struck full force by a work train in the western end of the county and thrown more than 100 feet into a nearby resident’s back yard.
Kenneth H. Whirley Sr., of the 11000 block of Old Stage Road in Petersburg, died instantly when he drove his Parker Oil Company truck into the path of an oncoming Norfolk Southern Railroad work locomotive.
Ironically, Whirley’s wife, Brenda, was killed in Petersburg in 2000 when she drove around a set of railroad crossing gates and was struck by an Amtrak train. Hers was the last recorded death at Collier Yard before the completion of a bridge over the railroad tracks.
Yesterday, the train, which had one engine and nine cars, was near the crossings at Karissa Farm Drive in Ford, a private dirt drive. There are no crossing gates at the intersection, which has two sets of train tracks often utilized by Norfolk Southern, CSX and Amtrak, but visibility on the tracks extends either way for about a mile.
According to witness reports, Whirley was making home propane deliveries in the neighborhood when he attempted to cross the railroad tracks at the intersection around 10 a.m.
At the time, a Norfolk Southern train with two crew members aboard was scheduled to do track repairs in the area.
Virginia State Trooper Bruce Carey said the propane truck was apparently straddled over both sets of tracks when the train blew its whistle and Whirley put the truck in reverse to back the vehicle out of the intersection. The train hit the cab of the truck at about 35 miles per hour, ripping the engine and tires from the frame and sending the propane tank and parts of the truck flying into the air. The truck and tank landed in bushes on an embankment while pieces of its grill and bumper littered the track. The train finally came to a stop some 622 feet down the track and began leaking diesel fuel as a result of the collision.
The safety valves on the propane tank kept it from exploding but did leak large amounts of propane vapors into the air.
According to David Jolly, director of Public Safety for Dinwiddie County, firefighters worked for several hours to contain the leaks on both the train and the tank and were forced to close down portions of state Route 751 and all of Karissa Farm Drive as a safety precaution. The roads remained closed to traffic for nearly seven hours as authorities worked to clean up the site.
Attempts to offload propane from the tank failed, so firefighters constructed a 25-foot pipe tower to burn off the fuel.
Oscar L. Edwards, of Parker Oil in Hopewell, said Whirley had worked for the company as a truck driver for about seven years and had been an outstanding employee with a pristine safety record.
“He always did everything by the book,” Edwards said. “I just don’t understand what happened. He knew to always stop at railroad crossings.”
Whirley’s son also works for Parker, Edwards said.
Donald Lewis has lived next to the railroad tracks for some 30 years and said he often hears the blow of a train whistle during the day.
Yesterday, he was working in his shed when he heard the train whistle blow louder than usual.
“I saw the truck and I said to myself please don’t try to cross in front of that train and as quick as I said it he did and got hit,” Lewis said. “The whistle blew and then there was a loud crash. It was just that fast.”
His wife, Gloria Lewis, was standing in the back yard when the crash occurred.
“I heard the train lay down on the horn and they usually do because people are always crossing in front of them there,” Gloria Lewis said. “I heard the crash and then it all came flying through the air. The tank landed down there near our garden (less than 30 yards away) and there was smoke.”
The Lewises did not go down near the truck because the smell of propane and diesel fuel was strong and the couple feared that it might explode.
Nearby neighbor Rena Togger did leave her house when she heard what she described as a “painfully loud boom,” and was shocked at what she found.
“I don’t understand how it happened and I feel so sorry for the family,” Togger said. “It’s tragic.”
The Virginia State Police are continuing to investigate the crash, but said this morning that preliminary reports suggest the train was traveling below the posted speed limit and Whirley was more than likely at fault.
Norfolk Southern has also issued a statement regarding the incident, stating that neither of the crew workers aboard the work train were injured in yesterday’s crash and that the company is conducting an internal investigation.