Passenger Injured in Tennessee when Railroad Track Maintenance Equipment Fails to Activate Crossing Signals
(Fowlkes, Tennessee – March 22, 2017)
The as-yet unidentified passenger of a red Toyota pickup truck was treated at the scene for injuries he suffered in a collision between a track-mounted piece of railroad maintenance equipment. The railroad maintenance equipment failed to activate signals and collided with the rear passenger side of the truck. The collision occurred at the Bruceville Slab Road crossing of Canadian National (formerly Illinois Central) railroad tracks in the Dyer County, TN community of Fowlkes at about 1:00 P.M. Wednesday afternoon.
Both the Tennessee Highway Patrol and the Dyer County Sheriff’s Department investigated the collision. According to sources, the northbound piece of equipment known as a track liner/tamper struck the highway vehicle at the crossing which has flashing lights and gates. The crossing accommodates 18 CN freight and Amtrak passenger trains that cross there at 79 mph on an average day. The pickup driver was travelling south on Highway 210, which parallels the tracks, and then turned onto Bruceville Slab Road and was struck by the railroad equipment.
The accident was the third to occur at the crossing which is used by four school buses each school day.
