FRIEDENS, Pa. — Two crew members and the truck driver were injured after a coal truck struck and derailed the locomotives of a CSX train sat a grade crossing in Somerset Township on Monday (March 10).
WTAE-TV reports the truck caught fire following the collision. WTAJ reports a locomotive fuel tank was ruptured, leaking fuel into a nearby creek, but that hazmat crews have mitigated that issue.
The collision, at State Route 281 (Storytown Road) near Culligan Road, will lead to the closure of Storytown Road until at least Thursday, March 13, according to the Somerset County Department of Emergency Services.
CSX said in an updated statement that the incident occurred about 2:45 p.m. at the Cupps Road grade crossing, and that the three injured individuals were transported to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. The railroad says the locomotives have been cleared from the scene and that rail operations have resumed, but that residents may continue to experience temporary road closures and detours in the affected area while crews work to replace the damaged crossing signals at Route 281. The cause is under investigation.
The incident site is on CSX’s S&C Subdivision, about 34 miles south of Johnstown, Pa.
— Corrected March 12 at 11:16 a.m. CT to note that truck hit train; updated at 11:38 a.m. CT with new CSX statement.
