(The Delaware News Journal posted the following story by Terri Sanginiti on its website on October 14.)
WILMINGTON, Del. — A 32-year-old tow truck driver escaped serious injury Monday when his truck collided with an Amtrak work train on Old Baltimore Pike.
State police said the crash occurred shortly before 2 p.m. when the tow truck driver, who has not been identified, was traveling west on Old Baltimore Pike and entered a railroad crossing, striking the locomotive of an Amtrak work train traveling south. The crash occurred west of Del. 72 and south of Newark.
Police spokesman Sgt. Walter Newton said the 17-car work train was transporting out-of-service cars from Wilmington to the Bear train yards.
The truck’s driver was trapped inside his vehicle when the front end of the crumpled truck collapsed on him.
A worker at a nearby construction site tried unsuccessfully to free him from the wreckage using a chain hooked to a backhoe, Newton said. New Castle County paramedics subsequently arrived and pulled the driver out, spokeswoman Kelli Starr-Leach said.
Paramedics treated the victim at the scene for leg and chest injuries. He was then flown to Christiana Hospital. Starr-Leach said he was listed in stable condition.
Newton said a preliminary investigation indicates the lights and signals at the railroad crossing were operating properly. “We need to run additional tests to verify our findings,” Newton said.
Old Baltimore Pike was closed to traffic for nearly three hours until wreckage could be cleared from the scene, Newton said.