(The following story by Matthew Watkins appeared on the Bryan-College Station Eagle website on July 23.)
BRYAN, Texas — A collision between a Union Pacific train and a piece of construction equipment being towed by an 18-wheeler in Leon County put the train’s conductor and engineer, as well as the driver of the truck, in the hospital.
The Department of Public Safety listed all three men’s injuries as “non-incapacitating.” However, the train’s engineer, Vincent Dwayne Deckard, did need to be airlifted to the hospital, according to law enforcement reports.
The incident happened Sunday afternoon on County Road 327. According to accident reports, Joshua Jake Lenamond, 27, was towing a large automobile used for paving streets and failed to stop at a railroad crossing.
The 18-wheeler was able to clear the crossing but its trailer did not and was struck by the train, authorities reported.
County Road 327 is a small, two-lane road off U.S. 79 that leads to houses and ranches. The railroad intersection – in a lightly wooded area – does not have gates that lower when a train is approaching.
It was unclear Monday how fast the train and the truck were traveling at the time of the collision.
The train suffered damage to the back quarter panel because of the impact, according to accident reports. The trailer was severed from the truck on impact and the construction equipment was totaled, reports state.
The equipment being towed was a Caterpillar RM-500.
According to the Caterpillar Web site, it weighs about 60,786 pounds and is used for cutting through soil to prepare roads for paving.
Lenamond and the train’s conductor, Elbert Ross Horn, 60, of Minola, were both taken to an emergency room in Fairfield and released soon after. Details of their injuries were not available Monday.
Deckard was airlifted to the East Texas Medical Center in Tyler with neck and back injuries. No update on his condition was available.
The railroad was not damaged, according to reports.