News & Reviews News Wire Police car, train collide during pursuit in West Virginia NEWSWIRE

Police car, train collide during pursuit in West Virginia NEWSWIRE

By Angela Cotey | June 3, 2019

| Last updated on November 3, 2020

Incident is second in as many weeks involving police vehicles

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A South Charleston police cruiser was destroyed Sunday after getting stuck on a CSX right-of-way near Charleston, W.Va. The car became stuck on a rail while in pursuit of a vehicle.
Two photos, Harry Hamrick
CHARLESTON, W.Va. – For the second time in two weeks, a police car has been involved in a collision with a freight train. The most recent incident occurred June 2  between a CSX Transportation freight train and a South Charleston police cruiser near West Virginia’s capitol city of Charleston.

The Sunday afternoon incident happened while police were in pursuit of a vehicle that failed to stop during a traffic stop. Local media outlets say at one point in the pursuit the vehicle officers were chasing drove onto the railroad tracks and the front tire of one of South Charleston’s police cruisers became stuck on the rail near a grade crossing. At the same time, a freight train was approaching from the east. The train dragged the police cruiser along the right-of-way and across an overpass where debris fell onto the roadway below.

The driver of the cruiser was able to exit the vehicle prior to the collision and no injuries were reported. Police officers later apprehended the suspect and the South Charleston Police Department confirms it is investigating the incident.

It is the second time in two weeks that a police car has collided with a train while involved in an on-duty call. On May 21, a police cruiser was struck by an oncoming Union Pacific freight train in Midland, Texas, after a sheriff’s deputy drove around a lowered crossing arm. The Texas deputy suffered only minor injuries.
Trains News Wire is awaiting comment from CSX.

3 thoughts on “Police car, train collide during pursuit in West Virginia NEWSWIRE

  1. Not just police cars. Washington county Highway engineer got hit by a train and killed walking on the tracks on CSX Marietta sub just west of Marietta Ohio on the 3rd. You would think a highway engineer would know better than be walking a live track? I don’t think he would have considered walking down the middle of a road for nothing.

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