2 February 2010

Semi-Trailer Up in Flames After Hitting Train

Bredenbury Saskatchewan - A semi-trailer driver is OK, but his rig went up in flames after colliding with a CP Rail train in the Yorkton area around 6 p.m. CT on Tuesday evening.
 
RCMP said the accident happened at a railway crossing on Highway 16, about two kilometres south of Bredenbury, Sask., which is roughly 200 kilometres northeast of Regina and 50 kilometres south of Yorkton.
 
RCMP said that slippery roads and poor visibility due to heavy snow were factors in the accident.
 
Police believe that the truck was northbound when the driver came upon another vehicle stopped at the level crossing for a train.
 
Heavy snow meant he did not have enough time to stop and instead swerved into the ditch to avoid hitting the vehicle.
 
The rig struck the train and caught fire. It was hauling two trailers of fertilizer.
 
Police said the fire departments from Yorkton and Bredenbury put out the fire.
 
The truck driver, a 57-year-old man from Guernsey, Sask., was not hurt.
 
Police said the cleanup was completed around 9 p.m. CT.
 
CN Rail is also investigating.