(The following story by Linda Russell appeared at KY3.com on June 29, 2009.)
SLEEPER, Mo. — Two trains collided in Laclede County on Monday morning, sending two people on one train to a hospital. A westbound train was on the main track and an eastbound train was pulled onto a side track but not quite far enough.
Just before 8:30 a.m., emergency crews began the search for the site of the reported collision about a mile and a half west and south of Sleeper, which is north of Lebanon.
“The hardest deal was trying to determine the location of the actual incident,” said Sleeper Fire Dept. Capt. Phillip Pitts.
“We had to do a little bit of driving but we could see the train through the trees, and we went through an opening in the fence,” said Laclede County Sheriff’s Dept. Capt. Mark Gregory.
Burlington Northern-Santa Fe says the westbound train with about 100 cars was headed from St. Louis to Tulsa when it hit the last few cars of a 130-car eastbound train that was partially on the main track.
“One train was on the side track and was waiting for the other train to pass, and he hung out just a little too far,” said Pitts.
Two people were inside the front engine of that westbound train that took the brunt of the impact.
“The sheriff and I made our way to the front engine, located a couple engineers inside, tried to get the window out, and one of the firefighters came up with a bar, and the sheriff and I popped the window out. I crawled in and helped the guys out,” said Gregory.
Both of the men were able to walk out but BNSF says both were taken to a hospital for minor injuries.
“They were all right but they took a heck of a ride,” said Gregory.
BNSF and multiple other agencies were working on the task of cleanup on Monday, and access isn’t the easiest.
“We have been in a field full of potholes, so it’s making it difficult to get up in here, but all crews are doing a good job,” said Pitts.
No hazardous materials were spilled, just three cars of Budweiser, some railroad ties, and other materials. The military’s Abrams tanks appeared to be fine.
Three locomotives and 10 cars derailed, and BNSF says it shouldn’t have happened, but emergency responders are thankful it wasn’t worse.
“This could have been a lot worse than what it was,” said Pittx.
BNSF is starting its investigation into what happened, and is taking this seriously. They expect to be on scene all night, and hope to have the tracks reopened by midmorning Tuesday. The Red Cross has disaster situation crews taking care of all the volunteer firefighters, and various crews working on the cleanup.
The locomotives did not leak any diesel but an environmental company sent crews to the scene to pump out the fuel to eliminate the chance of the fuel being spilled when they’re moved.
The track is the main BNSF line between Springfield and St. Louis.