Canadian National Train Hits Truck at Dangerous, Unguarded Crossing
(Clifford, Wisconsin – January 11, 2014)
The Price County, WI community of Clifford, miraculously, came out unscathed Saturday morning at about 10:53 A.M. when a Canadian National Railway freight train struck a truck delivering liquefied Petroleum Gas (Propane) to rural customers at the intersection of North River Road and CN railroad tracks, overturned the truck, injured the driver and caused a scare when a valve on the wrecked LPG truck began leaking the highly-explosive gas into the atmosphere.
Sufficient sparks were created from the collision to set off the volatile propane, but Providence was obviously with those affected by the wreck, which occurred at a dangerous and unguarded crossing which lacked any form of active protective device such as flashing lights, bells and crossing gates to warn drivers of highway vehicles of the approach of oncoming trains. Instead, the crossing is equipped only with passive railroad cross-buck and highway yield signage, devices which have no capability whatsoever of informing motorists that a train is coming.
The driver, the extent of whose injuries was not released, nor was his name, was sent by ground ambulance to an area hospital.
The near-conflagration was investigated by deputies of the Price County Sheriff’s Office.
