Amtrak train hits dump truck at Morrisville crossing

Morrisville, N.C. — An Amtrak train on its way to Charlotte hit a tractor-trailer dump truck early Monday afternoon, temporarily closing a Morrisville railroad crossing.

The wreck happened around noon at the crossing at 5701 McCrimmon Parkway near Chapel Hill Road.

Morrisville Town Manager John Whitson there were no reports of fatalities or injuries and that the track was passable.

The crossing was closed Monday while crews cleared the scene and installed new signals and authorities investigated the wreck, he said. The crossing reopened by 2 a.m. Tuesday.

The driver of the dump truck told firefighters that the signal at the crossing was green and that traffic was moving across the track prior to the collision.

He was in the process of crossing the tracks when, he said, he heard the railroad crossing hit the tractor-trailer, trapping the vehicle.

The force of the impact tore the empty trailer from the cab and threw it more than 100 feet. It took another quarter-mile for the train to stop.

"It was like bad turbulence, like in the air (on a plane)," said Cindy Hall, one of 39 passengers on board the train.

"Right after the jolt, maybe a couple seconds later, you're shrouded in a cloud of dust smoke. You couldn't see anything," her husband, Bob Hall said. "That's when we knew we hit something."

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white0333
August 17, 2010 6:12 p.m.

Funny how the stories always read "Train hits" instead of "Driver pulled in front of train". I know that intersection/crossing quite well and silly people pull up and stop on the tracks all the time. I don't, but one day last year when traffic was backed up I had some dummy pull around me because I wouldn't pull up on the tracks. This fool couldn't wait for traffic to move and instead took that stupid chance of sitting on the tracks.

Fortunately a train didn't come through but I wonder what the camera in the locomotive will show. We should all remember the claims earlier in the year from the Durham crossing where people said the signals were not working, but the loco cam proved otherwise.

Not_Time_Yet
August 17, 2010 4:47 p.m.

That train probably used less gas than what those 39 passengers would have used if they were driving to Charlotte themselves. Plus, using the train means I don't have to drive, so that's one less car on the road to clog these already crowded streets and highways.

kewlmom
August 17, 2010 1:03 p.m.

you know, someone made a comment earlier being all sarcastic that we need MORE rail service. NOT Well, we do and its very efficient. Rail travel is more energy efficient, and uses less fuel, than cars or airplanes. According to U.S. Department of Energy data, Amtrak is almost 20 percent more efficient than domestic airline travel and 28 percent more efficient than auto travel on a per-passenger-mile basis. So there you have it.

RDUfan
August 17, 2010 12:11 p.m.

Even if the light's green, if traffic is moving slow, don't stop on the tracks. Simple as that. Don't cross until you know that you have enough room on the other side. That was one of the first things I learned in driver's ed.

As for the intersection, sure it needs to be redone. That's what happens when there's growth in the area. I'm sure when the roads were first constructed, there wasn't nearly as much traffic as there is now.

kikinc
August 17, 2010 11:15 a.m.