(Chelsea, Alabama – January 16, 2025)
A driver and passenger were killed yesterday after their cement mixer truck was struck by a CSX freight train in Chelsea, Alabama. The collision occurred at the CSX crossing on County Road 433. The collision is the second collision at this crossing in less than three months. The names of the deceased driver and passenger have yet to be released.
This week’s collision marks the fourth collision at this crossing in less than ten years, according to records kept by the Federal Railroad Administration. The prior collisions occurred in October of 2024, August of 2017, and June of 2015. There are an average of twenty trains that operate over this crossing daily at speeds up to forty miles per hour.
Despite the high number of collisions at this crossing, it remains unguarded by any active warning devices, such as lights and gates. It is virtually certain that the addition of lights and gates could have prevented this tragedy and the three collisions prior. CSX Transportation and Operation Lifesaver know that the installation of lights and gates at these unprotected crossings saves lives. 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%.
Local police are continuing to investigate this collision.