Huttonsville, Randolph County , West Virginia

A logging truck crashed into a train in Huttonsville on Route 250 in Randolph County, injuring 12 people, WDTV reported.

At least three of the patients were critically injured, the TV station said.

Pocahontas County Emergency Services Director Shawn Dunbrack said two passenger cars on the train overturned in the accident at 1:30 p.m. Friday along U.S. Route 250 near Cheat Bridge near the Pocahontas-Randolph county line.

Dunbrack said the rail cars are operated by the Durbin & Greenbrier Railroad.

http://www.wchstv.com/newsroom/eyewitne ... ;app_data={"pi":"13129_1381517963_103726081","pt":"twitter"}

Now reported one loss of life.......

http://www.wvgazette.com/News/201310110061

Very sad to hear somebody was fatally injured.

As for OT, I certainly don't agree. This could have impacts on the industry, maybe higher insurance rates, maybe more.

Also, I wouldn't call this a derailment. That term implies the train leaving the track caused the incident. This was an accident which sounds to be caused by the log truck.

Point well taken Sir. I've changed the title as suggested.

More coverage:

http://www.theintermountain.com/page/co ... 65368.html

http://www.statejournal.com/story/23669 ... ounty-line

The photo at http://www.wvgazette.com/News/201310110061 shows the worst case scenario for rail excursion operators, absent multiplying the results. No word yet on if the fatality was the truck driver or a passenger.

I would guess the death was the truck driver. I don't know of any passenger deaths in the tourist railroad industry as of this point. Of all of the trains running in that part of West Virginia those passenger cars are probably the best ones to take a logging truck broadside. Some of the other equipment would not have held up and there could have been more serious injury and deaths.

I'm confused, they were running passenger trains on a Friday during the Fall? I've never heard of a tourist road doing that...

USA Today:

"A logging truck slammed into a fall tourism train at a rail crossing in eastern West Virginia on Friday afternoon, killing the trucker and injuring all 66 rail passengers and crew members, officials said. Three tourists were critically injured in the accident..."

And I agree, far from "off topic".

My sympathies to those involved. Let's hope the lawyers do not do too much damage.

/Mitch

Good grief, two heavyweights on their sides! How fast was that guy going to do that?

Again, sympathy for all, including the family of the truck driver. I admit I wonder how one could cause such an accident, and he paid dearly for his error, but that does not ease the loss his family will feel.

I have not seen any information regarding the speed of the truck at the time of the accident.

While it may or may not be true in this instance, typically log truck drivers, like many truck drivers, are paid on a "per load" basis. The more you haul, the more you make. So, it is not uncommon to see log trucks travelling at or above the speed limit, even on windy mountain roads where you might not expect.

Also, consider this. What do you think of when you think "battering ram"? A big log carried in some manner to smash down a door, right? Well, here we have an entire truck of big logs, which equates to one huge battering ram. Unlike some cargos like rock, the mass of this load is neatly packaged into battering ram style objects which will direct almost all of their energy in the direction they're moving.

Many loggers around here long ago install strain gauges on the bunks to determine how much of a load they have without needing a scale. They have a digital readout in the cab, and typically haul all they can legally carry. I think that's 80,000 pounds total, including the rig. He most likely had a heavy load on board.

It also appears that the crossing is on a diagonal, rather than being perpendicular to the track. In fact, it looks to be roughly a 45 degree angle (guessing) which possibly may have helped to initiate the rollover of the coaches.

It will be interesting to see the cause, if they can determine it. Broad daylight and he struck the middle of the train. Should have been avoidable it would seem.

That's because you live in the evergreen state, where three vine maples turning red are considered fall foliage. In the northeast entire hillsides blaze with color, and fall foliage trips are a big deal. Patronage is quite heavy, leaf peepers are big business.

For those who don't live east of I95 (or in Canada) Oct 14, 2013 is a Holiday --- ergo the Friday run.

My guess is the driver of the truck didn't expect to see a train on a week day, but sadly we'll never know for sure.

Bob H

My understanding is that this crossing is protected by bells and lights plus from the picture the flyers locomotives and HEP car were already through the crossing when this guy hit the side of passenger coaches. So it's fairly obvious that the train didn't "sneak out of the bushes" on this idiot.

I know you guys hate speculation but my prediction is if this guy was driving for a company then he was playing with his phone or something like that. If he was an independent trucker then 10 bucks says they find something in his blood you shouldn't be on driving a multiton vehical.

My thoughts and prayers for the drivers family, the injured and the crew. May the injured heal quickly and the railroad crew receive all the support they need.

Ross Rowland

One of the articles linked mentions he made no effort to brake at the signalized crossing. At some point, even if at the last second and far too late, he should have locked them up.
Medical emergency with really bad timing? Asleep? On his cell phone? Looking at a deer or some other distraction? Given the circumstances they may never know.

Bob H (the other one), he may not have expected a train, but as noted above, he drove into the side of the middle of the consist. Those two heavyweight were already blocking the road, he didn't get hit by the power as it popped out of the trees.