Idaho Dump Truck Driver Seriously Injured at Dangerous, Unguarded Eastern Idaho Railroad Crossing
(Kimberly, Idaho – April 28, 2021)
An Idaho dump truck was violently struck by an Eastern Idaho Railroad freight train Wednesday afternoon just outside of Kimberly, Idaho. The collision occurred at about 2:30 pm at an unguarded Union Pacific railroad crossing near the Kimberly Meadows subdivision.
The driver of the dump truck was life-flighted to a nearby hospital in critical condition. The crossing where this collision occurred accommodates an average of four freight trains daily at speeds up to 40 mph. For motorists, the vehicular traffic on the roadway going over the crossing is 50 mph. High speed vehicle and freight train traffic is a known in the railroad industry to increase the likelihood of collisions at unprotected crossing.
It is unquestionable that this railroad crossing, which accommodates high speed train and vehicle traffic, needs active warning devices, such as lights and gates. The installation of lights and gates would have almost certainly prevented this collision. Eastern Idaho Railroad and Operation Lifesaver know that lights and gates are the most effective type of protection at railroad crossings. Studies that have been conducted over fifty years ago confirm that lights and gates offer the ability to drastically reduce the number of vehicle/train collisions by as much as 96%.
